Return to the Future
by dantheman7777
Summary: [COMPLETE]XANA’s latest attack is unusual. He infects himself and alters the code of the “Return to the Past” program. Aelita deactivates the tower and the gang is sent 5 years into the future. What will they find? More importantly, can they get back?
1. Return to the Future

**Title: Return to the Future**

**Author: dantheman7777**

**Genre: Drama/Humor with a little romance**

**Rating: PG**

**Summary: X.A.N.A.'s latest attack is quite unusual. He infects himself and alters the code of the "Return to the Past" program. Unknowingly, when Aelita deactivates the tower the gang won't return to the past. Instead, they're sent 5 years into the future. What will they find? More importantly, can they get back?**

**A/N: Has it been a long time or what? Sorry for not putting anything up, my schedule has been quite strange this semester. If you want to know where I'm at in writing this then read my profile.**

**For the record, this is my 3rd CL fanfic but it's my first one done in a 3rd person with an omniscient narrator. That means that the narrator isn't "glued" to any one person and can jump around a lot. I think it will make for an interesting way to tell this story. Enjoy.**

* * *

Ulrich leaned back on his seat against the cafeteria wall amazed at how stress-less his life was going to be for the next three days. He stretched his arms out then folded them behind his head. Acheerful grin crept upon his face. 

"Well, don't you look happy," Yumi encouraged as she stole a glance of the brown-haired cutie. Seeing him so relaxed made her smile. She sat down next to him with a tray of food.

"Huh? You mean you're staying for dinner?" he asked, surprised.

"Yep, I have nothing to do tonight or tomorrow so my parents said it was okay if I could stay here late." She continued, "You guys have any plans?"

"Nope," Ulrich answered, still relaxing, "Three days without those nasty teachers is like heaven on Earth!"

"Can't say I don't blame him," the purple-loving kid commented between bites of food, "Those teachers are always out to get us, especially Jim."

Ulrich slipped back into his chair breaking Yumi's stare which he was unaware of, "Maybe if Jeremie didn't skip gym class so much he might give us a break," he taunted. Just then Jeremie joined the table.

Earlier today Ulrich and Odd had to cover for Jeremie, again, in gym class. However, this time Jim didn't buy their excuse of Jeremie receiving a rather large electrical shock from his laptop and had to go to the infirmary, even though it was the truth…from a certain point in time. As a result, the boys had to do push-ups during their warm-up and were forced to run while their classmates played soccer for the remainder of the period. They were quite tired afterwards.

Jeremie rarely ate dinner so for him to be there instead of working on Aelita's antivirus meant that he had some sort of news…or that they were serving Brussels sprouts which they weren't.

"Come on, you guys, you know it's for a good cause," the computer genius replied.

"Yeah, we know." Odd said unenthusiastically, "Save the world…."

"Speaking of worlds, how's Aelita doing?" asked Yumi.

Jeremie sighed, "Well, she's been asking a lot of questions to say the least."

"Questions about what?" Odd asked.

"To summarize it in one word: everything," Jeremie said bluntly, rubbing his eyes. "I don't mind answering them but she had so many that I could hardly work on her antivirus."

Yumi saw what Aelita was trying to convey a spoke on her behalf. "Jeremie, I think this is her way of telling you that she wants to be materialized for a while."

"You really think so?" The girl nodded.

"I'd imagine it would get pretty lonely in Lyoko," Ulrich stated with smirk on his face, trying to inform his best friend that he had an idea.

"...And talking to you can only do so much," the spiky-haired kid interrupted him and finished his sentence for him, thus, proving that he shared the same mischievous manner. "I say we bring her here for the weekend."

"It's not like we have anything else to do," Yumi confessed sharing the gang's (minus Jeremie) same subliminal thought with a grin on her face. "Besides, I think it'd be fun to take her shopping."

"Gee, that was fast." Jeremie was shocked by the lack of protest. If Aelita had explicitly told him or if he would have brought up the subject on his own, then the computer controller would have expected there to be at least a few complaints from his friends.

However, he ignored their silence because he too yearned to see Aelita again in flesh. It had been about a month since he last saw her in human form and he welcomed the day when he'd see her again.

"Let's go and tell her the good news then," Jeremie said. The four friends then dumped their trays in the trash and went to Jeremie's dorm, Ulrich leading the way.

Along the path, a certain love-struck girl saw her crush walking in the open field.

"Ulrich, dear," a whiny, high-pitched voice called. The target of her affection cringed upon hearing the sound of his name being said in such an awful off-tune voice.

Following Ulrich's lead, Yumi, Odd and Jeremie quickened their pace to the computer genius's dorm room in the hopes of avoiding yet another Sissy attack. If all went well, this would be the third thwarted encounter today. Even though it was only 6:00 PM, Ulrich had a feeling that she wouldn't let up this evening especially since Yumi was here.

He and his friends rushed into the room where Aelita's pop-up window was waiting for them. As they filed into the tiny dwelling place, the brown haired boy who was being chased locked the door.

"Hey, guys," Aelita greeted. She observed the gang panting exhaustively and became naturally curious.Aelita wondered if school was really that physically demanding. From her only day of experience in the human world, the virtual entity didn't know the answer. For all she knew it could be. "Hard day at school?" the pink haired girl asked, half-sarcastically and half-confused.

"You have no idea," Ulrich, the most breathless of the four, replied.

"That's the third Sissy attack today," added Yumi who was assisting him in barricading the door with their bodies.

Before Sissy could reach them and eavesdrop on their conversation, Jeremie asked Aelita if she would like to come to Earth for the three-day weekend. She was ecstatic and immediately began to daydream about things to do with Jeremie when suddenly a knock came from the door.

"Ulrich, I know you're in there!" Sissy's highly girly voice seeped through the door, startling him.

She quickly thought up a scheme that would truly make Yumi forsake him. In a sweet and seemingly-genuine voice she lied, "I hope you haven't forgotten about our date tonight. You said you'd take me to the movies so…I'll just wait here until you come out."

Ulrich put a perplexed look on his face and shook his head, "I wouldn't go out with her even if my life depended on it."

"What are we going to do?" Jeremie asked under his voice, worried. "She can't find out what were doing."

Instantly, Odd noticed the only other exit behind Jeremie and began to formulate a plan. He ripped off the sheets on Jeremie's bed and tied them together and then to a leg on his computer desk. The others watched in silence, not wanting to give Sissy any indication as to what he was doing and also because they were completely confused.

Quietly, Odd explained his plan to escape out the window. However, since they were on the third story they would have to use Jeremie's bed sheets as a rope. Once they got down, they would head for the factory.

While the others were lowering themselves down, Odd left a little note behind for Sissy.

* * *

A misty black cloud loomed over the damp cement surface of the third basement floor of the ambiguously abandoned factory. It crawled out from the large protrusion of circuitry in the center, then it floated mysteriously back inside itself. At that time, X.A.N.A. had full access to Lyoko's source code. 

By altering the lines to the "Return to the Past" program for his bidding he could once and for all get rid of those five menacing little children that caused him so much effort by simply having them deactivate his tower. They wouldn't even know they did something wrong until it was too late and once they do deactivate the tower the changes will be permanent! After that, the irrational human world would be his.

* * *

As they gathered around the command console, Lyoko's only inhabitant sighed, obviously depressed. Instead of having a fun and joyful weekend, her first weekend, X.A.N.A. apparently had plans. 

Jeremie looked at her with confusion. She had been so happy a few minutes ago. Aelita apologized for the sudden change in plans and told them that, unfortunately, another tower had been activated. The four knew what to do. Yumi, Ulrich and Odd headed for the scanners.

* * *

Sissy was getting impatient with her "boyfriend's" lack of willingness to go out with her. The people she saw go into the room that she paced in front of weren't making any sounds and hadn't for some time. She stuck a hairpin into the lock and began to feel around. Seconds later, the lock retracted and she almost kicked the door down, she was so angry. 

Sissy peered inside the vacant room and was dumbfounded. Ulrich was nowhere to be seen! Immediately, she began searching places that he might be hiding, calling out his name. After a few vain attempts, she noticed that a wind was blowing in and caught sight of the elaborate escape route and a folded piece of paper in the shape of a dog lifting one hind-leg in the air.

Sissy's hands became fists of fury as she read the note. It was signed unsurprisingly by Odd. She stormed out the entrance in hatred, vowing vengeance.

* * *

Jeremie stared at the virtual image of Lyoko. A white glare swept across his glasses as he turned to view the multiple screens in the display. He, along with the others, pondered what chaos X.A.N.A. had created this time. 

The four virtualized avatars met in the forest region of Lyoko.

Aelita pointed to the direction that the pulsations were emanating from. "The tower is in that direction," she said with her eyes staring down at the artificial grass.

"Hey, don't feel bad, princess," Odd set his four fingered hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. "Look at it this way: once we go back in time you'll have even more time to spend with us."

The way Odd always looked on the optimistic side of things cheered Aelita up regardless of the circumstances. A smile appeared on her face.

The four kids began to run to the flaming tower which was now in plain sight. Jeremie informed them that he hasn't spotted any of X.A.N.A.'s robots yet.

"This is too easy," Ulrich complained, suspiciously.

That statement made Odd worry, as he heard it said many times in the past. "You know, Ulrich, whenever you say that, usually an ambush of monsters attacks us."

"What do you want me to do?" Ulrich suggested, "Stop saying it?"

The friends continued to argue along the route to the red pillar. They still haven't seen any signs of monsters. Soon enough Aelita made it to the tower, unharmed.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ulrich said in disbelief. "Lyoko trips are never this easy!"

"Well, let's not take it for granted," Yumi butted in. "The sooner we deactivate the tower the better."

"She's right," Jeremie agreed over the communication-link. "Go ahead Aelita."

Seconds later the girl entered in her code to deactivate the tower.

Jeremie watched as the walls of code descended and prompted himself to press the confirm button on his keyboard. "Return to the past now!"

Normally, a white bubble of light would engulf the entire planet and return everything to their state before the tower was active but not this time. Ten seconds passed and there was still no sign of the program's activation. Jeremie was stumped.

"Aelita," the computer technician addressed her. "Could you call the Return to the Past program manually? Something must be wrong with my interface."

"Okay," she replied calmly, bringing up a transparent computer command line in mid-air.

After a few keystrokes she mimicked Jeremie as the program then activated, "Return to the past now."

"Oh, brother," the object of mockery scoffed. The sound of Aelita laughing echoed through Lyoko.

* * *

When the light receded Jeremie found himself still in his computer chair at the factory. The only difference from a minute ago was that the screen he was gazing at now was black as night. There was no virtual image of Aelita, status cards or anything. It was as if Lyoko had shut down. 

Instantly, Jeremie feared the worst as thoughts of not being able to see his friends or his beloved Aelita again flowed into his mind.

In the distance a male voice groaned, "Jeremie, if you turn the power on _again_ I swear I'll shove this wrench down your throat!" It came from below in the scanner room.

Jeremie couldn't recognize the voice. Confused with the identity of the person, he went over to the ladder that led to the lower level to view the speaker.

"I'm telling you, it wasn't my fault!" another male voice, lower than Jeremie's yet strikingly similar, pleaded. "X.A.N.A. activated a tower and I had no choice. I tried to warn you."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," The first voice replied obviously not believing "Jeremie's" word.

Just then, the scanners lit up with life and their doors opened. The man working with the wrench was, again, electrified due to the arrival some familiar guests.

* * *

**A/N: I do respond to reviews so if you have a question/comment please tell me! Also, be kind and tell me what you think of this, okay? Thanks.**


	2. Dilemmas

**A/N: Well, it looks like thing are off to a good start in this story. Here's the second part. Also, remember my genres: Drama/Humor. This isn't going to be a slap-stick comedy, instead the humor is going to be "serious" humor. That is, it's going to be entwined with the story. **

**Also, the older gang will be referred to with quotation marks around their names so that why you won't be confused with the younger gang. Enjoy and thanks for reading (and reviewing)!**

**Yumie Nishidera****: Yeah, that was the younger Jeremie in the chair. Thanks for being my first reviewer.**

**Janika: "There are so many idiots in the world today that instead of wasting my breath on them I'm simply going to wave my hand in front of them and say 'bah' when they say something dumb." "Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they're an idiot, Dan."**

"**Bah!"**

**Chinesechic****: Why is everybody confused with the voices? I thought they were pretty obvious. Anyway, thanks for the Odd compliment. It will play a role in the next chapter, BTW. Thanks for reviewing.**

**thesuperdot****: I'm glad you're going to review every chapter. Unfortunately, only one of your predictions will come true. The one about them meeting their future selves.**

**D Wolf Falls****: I have a ton of original ideas. A few of them will come out in this story. You'll like them, I'm sure.**

**renayumi****: I'll try to update every 4-5 days. Maybe less if I'm feeling crazy. Thanks for reviewing.**

**ulrichsister****: I read and reviewed your story. Don't worry about spelling. I can't do it either.**

**Kree the Wolf****: Other than a squirrel, chocolate and the other Dan, what else can keep your attention?**

**JLyoko: I hope that this chapter will clear some things up for you but something tells me that it won't. Anyway, I think you'll like this. Enjoy. **

* * *

**This chapter is dedicated to:**

**Yumie Nishidera**

**For being my first reviewer**

* * *

The electrocuted man was flung onto the floor in the middle of the room, his wrench glued to his hand. His companion stared in awe as three figures appeared in the scanners. One of them fell to the floor, revealing a fourth. 

Odd was shoved to the ground by a weight he couldn't recognize. A girly "Oh!" came from behind him as she collided on top of him. He moaned in pain. The flattened boy recognized the voice.

"Hey, Aelita, could you get off me?" Odd added, coughing, "You weigh a ton!"

Offended, the pink-haired girl whispered into his ear, "Thanks for noticing, Odd!" Then she used his head as a handhold and pushed her body up. Once she was standing, the troublesome teen was about to rise but was impeded by Aelita's foot in the center of his back as she calmly strutted across his spine and gave a confused glance at Ulrich and Yumi, who were both equally confused.

A low growl escaped the throat of the person in the middle of the room. His navy blue eyes were dead set on the Jeremie that he addressed earlier. He slowly rose from the metal surface, weary of his ordeal and walked over to him, snarling.

The shock from a few seconds ago left him without any memory of the coming attractions. His short, blonde hair which was covered by a red bandana that hid a scar from the other electrical incident looked lobe-sided as it was sticking up on one side.

"Jeremie" was frightened at this sight because he knew how committed the eighteen-year-old was to what his words; it was no idle threat. "Tristan, come on, you don't want to do this," the older computer programmer futilely tried to negotiate with him while backing up to the ladder that led to the first sub-level. He felt the cold, metal bars press against his shoulder blades. The touch of steel reminded him of what would happen if he didn't escape. Quickly, he jolted around and climbed up the ladder.

However, "Jeremie's" former self had his curiosity get the best of him and he met "Jeremie" on the third step from the bottom. The older and younger selves stared at each other for a split second. They yelled in shock and in a panic both versions' grip slipped and they fell to the floor on opposite ends of the ladder.

The older Jeremie wore tan pants and a blue t-shirt that read in small print on top, "Professors of the Shuck and Jive." In the middle were larger white letters spelling out, "Shuck U." The humor was obvious but because of the situation Jeremie didn't laugh. Instead, he studied the other features about this person. He didn't wear glasses and had the exact same posture as himself.

"Huh?" the six-foot-tall wrench-handed man remarked. Tristan stopped and pondered this phenomenon. It was an impossibility that he hadn't thought of before. Then he realized the guest looked unusually similar to "Jeremie" and recalled an event that he was told about years ago about how his friends went into the future.

"Jeremie," he called. Both versions looked at him with blank expressions, proving his hypothesis. "I think today is 'the day'."

"Well, that would explain how they're here," "Jeremie" stated, peering behind his friend. Tristan turned around and saw the new visitors. He added in his defense, "And how you were electrocuted."

Tristan pondered his words carefully and concluded, "Yes, it would." He then tossed the wrench near some gray, metal suitcases by the scanner that he was modifying and looked at the four kids behind him. "Welcome to the world of tomorrow, you guys," he greeted, without an ounce of sarcasm in his voice. "You're going to be in for quite a shock."

Ulrich, Odd, Aelita and Yumi looked at him in confusion. They didn't understand his riddle, which they thought it was. Even more questions raced though the younger ones' minds as they noticed Aelita next to Odd.

Tristan observed the gang's cautious glances at each other and preempted a bombardment of inquiries that would have followed, "I think it would be best if you guys just listened to what we have to say. It'll answer all of your questions."

Jeremie ran over to his friends, "Are you guys alright?" As he finished saying that he noticed Aelita and halted. "Aelita!" he said in complete bewilderment. The fact that Lyoko wasn't active and that her presence wasn't being hindered made Jeremie emotional as he hugged his newly-minted friend. "I can't believe you're okay!"

Aelita sensed his feelings though his tone and became concerned with his unusually high pitch. "Jeremie what happened?" she asked, returning his embrace. "And how did I get here?"

He took a deep breath and told everyone that Lyoko was deactivated. It was a shock to all except for two men.

Odd let the two enjoy each others company with a smirk on his face. He shifted his attention to Tristan. "So, you want to explain or do you want me to start guessing?"

Jeremie and Aelita let go of each other and listened.

Tristan stood with his arms crossed in front of the gang. He wore a black leather coat over a white shirt and blue denim jeans with white shoes. In a firm voice he said, "Alright, here's the deal: X.A.N.A.'s last attack from your perspective changed the code to the 'Return to the Past' program. Instead of returning to the past you went into the future. Five years if I remember correctly."

"Jeremie" walked up beside him and corrected Tristan, "Four years, eight months and three days to be exact." He paused and the two engineers exchanged glances.

Tristan added, "When you ran the program you came here but as your Jeremie said, Lyoko is shut down so you came out of the scanners because our Lyoko couldn't contain you."

Jeremie rubbed his chin looking for the significance of such a date. There was the possibility that X.A.N.A. could have sent them further but it didn't make any sense to the young scientist. He asked, "Do you know why X.A.N.A. chose such an unusual date?"

"Jeremie", sharing the exact same behavior of his former self, unknowingly mimicked him. The gang finally realized that this Jeremie was indeed their Jeremie's future self.

The older Jeremie responded, "From what we were told when we went into the future, X.A.N.A. altered the code to the program. He changed a function parameter that represented the amount of time a tower had been activated and one other line of code. Since he's only been online for so long he changed the variable to the largest amount of time he's ever experienced. The other line made it so that you and only you guys would go into the future and not the past; a simple Boolean expression turned from true to false."

Jeremie visualized the code of Lyoko and instantly recognized the two items that he spoke of. It wouldn't take long to correct them.

Aelita asked, "If we're in the future then how do we get back to our time?"

"I don't think you can," "Jeremie" regrettably informed the visitors.

The room fell silent after his answer. Everybody instantly became depressed except for one person. He knew of a way but in order to it, it would take a huge emotional toll on "Jeremie". Realistically speaking, it was going to happen anyway but he didn't want the younger group to see him to go through another episode of depression like he had twice before.

However, logic and necessity overrode his concerns. As much as he hated to execute his plan, it still had to be done. Tristan then told it to the group.

Apparently, when the older Yumi, Ulrich, Odd and Jeremie went into the future almost five years ago, the Aelita of that time gave them a disk with a program on it. It was designed for this specific case. The program would return whoever was in the scanner at that time to exactly four years, eight months and three days ago; exactly one second after they left. Then, once back to the correct time, the younger Jeremie would fix their code.

The disk and its content were both in "Jeremie's" dorm room at a local college in town so the older group would give it to the younger group before they left.

However, the problem was that in order to use the program X.A.N.A. had to be turned on. It was something that "Jeremie" was totally against.

As he predicted, his friend was seething with anger. He suddenly yelled at Tristan for not being considerate of Aelita, scaring the younger group.

"Jeremie" then exited the room but as he was doing so he left this thought, "By the way, it's nice to see you again, Odd. It's been a while." It especially frightened Jeremie when he walked into the elevator and slammed his fist into the up button making a loud _THUD_, not even looking back as he stepped inside.

Tristan didn't understand his statement and didn't want to ask him to repeat it. He believed that he meant that the situation was odd not that odd was a name.

Once the elevator doors were closed the lob-sided engineer turned back to the visitors. Before anybody could respond to what just happened he said, "Don't worry about him. He just needs some time to cool down."

"So we never did find the anti-virus, did we?" Jeremie assumed, saddened.

"Yes, you did. A half-year from your time you'll have found it," Tristan admitted, "However, that didn't solve Aelita's problem." He sat down, cross-legged on the floor with his back against the scanner. "Every time we find a cure for a virus and administer it, our next move is always to materialize Aelita but every time we do that X.A.N.A. always activates the tower that she's in and implants a new one."

The others followed Tristan's example and sprawled out on the cool surface.

He continued, "It wasn't until recently that Jeremie and I began to experiment with a firewall to protect Aelita from X.A.N.A. when she's being materialized, which is what this is." He pointed to the black box that he was working on earlier. Numerous cables were plugged into it. "It looks promising but yours truly always finds a way to get through.

"When Lyoko is deactivated, the virus triggers. That's the reason why your Aelita is not affected right now. Her virus is present in her but since she wasn't here when we shut down Lyoko it hasn't activated and won't."

"So, what kind of virus is in your Aelita right now?" asked Odd, as if he would understand.

Tristan stared down at his white shoes that were layered in dirt, oil and other various materials from the scanners and replied, "A deadly one." He sighed and tilted his head up against the scanner. Then he continued, "She's probably in the hospital. I'm sure that Jeremie's on his way there right now. She'll need to come back to Lyoko in a few hours before the virus kills her. Until then…I guess you guys are stuck here."

Tristan noticed Aelita grasping Jeremie's hand. He understood that she must be terrified, so he offered a simple piece of advice, "Just remember that whatever happened in my future might not necessarily happen in yours."

As comforting as those words should have been, Aelita took her desire to come to earth as the main reason for everyone being in this situation. If she hadn't have been so curious then nobody would be suffering!

Yumi looked at the optimistic side of things. Sure, the situation that their future selves were in was heart-breaking but she was still curious. "Tristan, do you think it's alright if we could see our future selves?"

Tristan responded with the sound of deep thought, "Hmmmmm."

Odd's eyes lit up with mischief from Yumi's comment. He too had something on his mind. "Yeah, I'd like to see if Ulrich and Yumi ever went out on date!" he said snickering.

Yumi giggled at his remark but Ulrich glared at him and threatened, "I'd like to know if Odd ever made it past the 8th grade."

"Wait. Odd? That's your name?" the bandana-wearing boy asked in disbelief. "I thought it was just an adjective."

"Huh? I don't get it. Why don't you know my name? Did something happen to me?" asked the purple-loving kid.

Tristan's memory of five years ago came back to him and he finally remembered what happened to a person named Odd. "Ironically enough, Ulrich, Odd did not make it past the 8th grade. However, there's a good reason for that…"

* * *

**A/N: Oh, what a nice cliffy! Well, you kind of got a feel for the future gang. Not to great, huh? Don't worry things do get better...sort of. In the mean time, please review. Thanks!**


	3. Explain Odd

**A/N: Well, it looks like everybody is confused with Tristan. Technically, he's not an ACC (author created character). If you go to the official CL web site and click on Lyoko Universe then click on characters and then on secondary characters (at the bottom), from there go to the 6th grade and you can see the a picture of Tristan. He's a minor character in season 1 and I decided to use him but I had to take some author's privileges and fill in the gaps of his personality that the show doesn't give. Anyway, that's who he is!**

**thesuperdot: Nope, he didn't die in Lyoko. It's much more dramatic than that.**

**Janika: Thanks for pointing that out. Anyway, I decided to explain things in this chapter instead of that last one.**

**Renayumi: It sounds horrible because I made it a cliff hanger but aside from that, it actually is pretty tragic.**

**Raptork: Yeah, Odd's gone. Don't worry about what a Boolean is. It's a computer science term for a specific type of memory.**

**Purpletiedyedshoelaces: He's dead. If you read this chapter you'll find out why and how.**

**Chinesechic: Your question will be answered today. Yeah, he isn't that dumb but sometimes he just acts like he is.**

**JLyoko: I update every 4-5 days with a few exceptions. Don't worry, this chapter doesn't have a very big cliff.**

**Yuri Nishidera****: Nope, he didn't. Yes, there is a good reason for it.**

**Tellemicus Sundance****: I'm glad to hear that I got another reviewer. One thing in this world that I like a lot is figuring out things and puzzles. My other big story is totally like that. This story will just get more intriguing, I think.**

**Little Vili****: Yep, it is. Don't worry about Tristan. You'll get to know more about in the next chapter. This one explains what happened in the paradox that the younger gang is in.**

**D Wolf Falls****: A lot of the ideas will be shown in the next chapter. This one just explains things like your questions.**

* * *

Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Jeremie and Aelita lounged around the floor of the 2nd basement sub-level listening to Tristan reveal the paradox that they were in. 

"You know Tristan it's really weird that you can be so calm about this whole mess," Odd criticized, leaning on his side with his hand propping his head up, "I mean, this day can change our lives forever!"

Tristan smiled and chuckled once, his first smile in at least a day. Odd was right. He could see that his actions were a bit strange for them even though they seemed normal to him and the others.

He responded, "Don't forget Odd, I've had four years and some-odd months to think about what I'm going to say today." Tristan knew that this day would come so to be totally unprepared in what he and the others were going to share with them was foolish.

The unusual kid mimicked his last statement by twisting his words in a very childish and obnoxious accent. This made him mad. A low growl came from within him.

However, he refrained and turned his attention to the more respectful members of the group. "I'll start from the beginning. It all started just after my group went into the future…," he started.

* * *

When the older versions of Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and Aelita went into the future they didn't met their future selves. Instead, they only saw a much older version of Aelita still in Lyoko. All she did was tell them the date, what the situation was, gave them the disk with the program on it and then they went back home. The whole trip lasted just under a half-hour. 

Once they got back, they materialized Aelita for the three day weekend. All went well with her.

However, just before the gang escaped Sissy's clutches out the window the day they went into the future, Odd left a note for her. The note made the drama queen so angry that she vowed to get vengeance against Odd. That was where the trouble began.

* * *

"Hold on," Ulrich interrupted and turned his head to look at Odd, "You left her a note?" The smiling kid nodded and snickered.

"What did it say?" asked Yumi.

"Oh, nothing much," Odd replied happily, "…just that if she doesn't stop asking Ulrich out then Kiwi's going to do something nasty in her bed. If you get what I mean." In addition to Odd's laughter, there was a combination of head shaking and eye rolling that followed the end of his comment.

Tristan sighed. He wondered how something so serious could come from something so trivial. Maybe it was better for the gene pool if Odd did die. "I'll continue…," he said, scornfully.

* * *

The next week, Sissy did what she promised herself she'd do and got Odd in trouble during gym class. As a result, he had to serve several detentions and sit in the front of the bus on a school field trip that same week so Jim could keep an eye on him. 

The ride started out just as any other bus ride would. Ulrich sat next to his best friend for company. Nobody knew of the impending doom. However, when the bus crossed the Washington and Franklin intersection the driver of the bus was caught in a yellow light. Not wanting to stop he sped through the cross-section only to be met with another car whose driver also had the same mind set.

Since Ulrich and Odd were at the front of the vehicle they received the full force of the collision. Ulrich escaped with only a few injuries: a twisted knee and some scratches, nothing serious. However, Odd was dead. His skull had been fractured and split open by the impact.

* * *

The younger teens were in shock at what happened. They had no idea that it would end up like this. Tristan stopped his presentation to allow it to sink into their minds. 

Aelita started crying. Although she knew what death was, she had no idea what death was like. To her, death is being devirtualized or deleted. The naive girl didn't know what happened if a person died in the real world but unlike Lyoko, it would seem that death was permanent.

"Like I said," the future gang member reminded, "What happened in my time might not necessarily happen in yours."

"So, there's a way to prevent Odd's death?" Aelita chocked out of her tear-stricken face. Jeremie pulled a white handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Aelita. She thanked him.

"I believe so," Tristan answered. "If Ulrich would ask Sissy out the night you go back then I believe that Odd won't be condemned to that bus seat."

"What!" Yumi protested, surprised.

Ulrich shock his head immediately, "There is no way I'm going to do that! Never! There has to be another way."

Tristan informed him, "I don't think there is but in all seriousness you must think it over. Odd's life is at stake here. Going out with her is the only for-sure way to prevent his death." Ulrich sighed and agreed to ponder the idea.

Odd had gotten up from his horizontal position and sat cross-legged with his arms in the same manner. "What!" he exclaimed. "My life is on the line and you're going to think about it! I don't think so!" The trouble maker added in a matter-of-fact voice while pointing at Ulrich, "You're going take Sissy to the movies when we get back."

Ulrich knew that Odd had no idea what he was really asking. If he did take her out then she wouldn't leave him alone for a very long time probably until he got married…to someone else, anyone else. In a way, doing what Tristan said was a death wish for him.

Odd had some understanding of this so Ulrich simply replied, "Like I said, I'll think about it."

"Some friend you are," Odd muttered.

Tristan didn't want this annoyance to go any further so he continued his narrative.

* * *

After the accident, Sissy kept her distance from Ulrich for a while. Everybody mourned Odd's death but Ulrich took it the hardest. He would be traumatized for years to come for his best friend died quiet literally in his hands. 

Ulrich never did blame Sissy for Odd's death though. He accused the drivers who were both later convicted of driving recklessly and manslaughter for his friend's passing away.

About two weeks after Odd's passing, the first person died at the hands of X.A.N.A. It was a person without any family so not too many people noticed. However, the root cause of the person's death could be attributed to Ulrich's lackadaisical performance in Lyoko that day. Even though nobody blamed him for the death, he took it personally and slipped into a depression.

As a result from the depression, his grade plummeted too. After school, with Odd's cheerful mood gone, Jeremie busy on Aelita's antivirus and Yumi at her home Ulrich felt very lonely and just stopped caring about things.

Since he couldn't keep his grade up, Jim had no choice but to suspend him from soccer practice. His parents became increasingly worried when he did that.

Ulrich also kept his promise to not tell anyone about Lyoko so whenever he talked to his parents or anybody really he was just at a loss for words. He didn't want to talk about Odd who was always the topic because he knew that it would eventually lead to discussing X.A.N.A. Due to his silence, his concerned parents sent him to a therapist.

Once Yumi noticed his depression, she helped Ulrich with everything she could. She helped him study, do homework, work on projects and to put it simply, live.

With Odd gone and Jeremie locked away in his room, Yumi and Ulrich had more time together during lunch and between classes than they had ever had before. About a month after the tragedy, the two were going out and dating each other.

* * *

Odd was filled with excitement. He couldn't believe that the two actually went out. The overzealous match-maker exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew you two were perfect for each other!" 

The lack of mentioning his death prompted Tristan to sigh once more and shake his head. Maybe Odd's death is really a blessing in disguise. Look at what happened: two people got together, Tristan joined the group, Sissy stopped going after Ulrich for a month or so and the teachers would certainly rejoiced at the lack of interruptions during class.

"Continue the story Tristan," Ulrich complained in a mono-tone voice.

* * *

Eventually with Yumi's help, Ulrich did get back on track in life but for the time being he and the gang still needed more help. The team was still short-handed in Lyoko so one day just after the two decided to get together they all met in Jeremie's dorm and decided, Aelita included, that they needed to get another hand in Lyoko. 

Tristan at that time wore an orange sweatshirt with a matching hood and brown khakis. He was a person who kept to himself for various reasons and didn't really talk to people in general. In addition, he was also athletic, being on the soccer team. The group thought that he could be trusted with their secret.

Once Tristan was told about Lyoko he agreed to help. As the group got to know him they learned that he was desperately in need of a roommate and a friend.

A few weeks later, Tristan moved in with Ulrich due to Odd's absence and his own loneliness. Like Jeremie, he too was and still is interested in computers so in the years to come he greatly helped out Jeremie in his quest to materialize Aelita.

* * *

Jeremie sat patiently in an old over-used piece of furniture in the waiting room of a hospital in Paris. His feet were firmly planted on the ground and his elbows were resting on his knees, supporting his head. He hadn't been there too long but with all the frequent trips to this place he quickly became bored. 

This was the fifth time that Aelita had to be admitted and all for the same reason. The firewall program wasn't complete. Jeremie would never come to terms with that fact. Whenever he saw Aelita in the real world everything seemed to stop for him and he was always quick to conclude that Aelita would be here for good.

He hated to admit it but Tristan was right, again. Jeremie came here on a hunch that he was. The young computer genius thought about apologizing but pushed the idea out of his head as a nurse told him that he could see his princess.

Jeremie followed the nurse to the door that lead to Aelita's room, along the way filling him in on her condition. Her friends, Yumi and Ulrich, dropped her off here and told her that she had a bloody nose and they feared that it her brain cancer was acting up again.

It was determined during the first visitation that X.A.N.A.'s virus was implanted in the pre-frontal cortex of her brain. That is, the area right behind the forehead. It moderate emotional responses. However, her brain functions aren't affected until later but the virus does impede the organs around it, the easiest one being her nose. Her brain cancer wasn't exactly a lie but the meaning was clear. The nose bleed was the first of three signs that the virus was taking over.

She warned him to not let anyone else in for she could only see one visitor at a time. He agreed and entered, closing the door gently.

At the sound of the door shutting Aelita realized that there was someone else in her room, "Jeremie?" she guessed, knowing that he had always been her first guest.

"Yeah, it's me," he replied. She smiled, resting comfortably in her bed dressed in a light green hospital gown. "How are you feeling?" She didn't seem in pain but he wanted to ask anyway. There were the standard wires going in and out of her body: the heart monitor, the glucose drop and the urine collector.

"Fine, I'm not in any pain," she answered, reassuring him. "Ulrich said that I lasted a lot longer than last time."

"Well, that's good," Jeremie said in a dire attempt to keep the conversation going. He was too troubled by Tristan's accurate predictions to continue talking with Aelita.

Aelita noticed his sudden drop in his attention and asked him, "Jeremie, what's wrong?"

The young Einstein answered, "It's just that…_Tristan_…." At the very mention of his name Aelita knew what was happening. "He's…" Jeremie sighed. "He's…being insensitive again."

She took his right hand in hers and rubbed it gently, stroking his fingers and his silver ring-band.

Aelita too had a matching silver ring around her right ring-finger but unlike Jeremie's hers was smaller and had a small pink gem in the shape of a heart. Both rings weren't very ornate or fancy and were some-what old.

"Don't let him get to you. You know how he is," Aelita said.

"I know. It's just that…I wish he'd be a little more optimistic."

"Jeremie, can you make sure that he and the others will come by?"

"Sure."

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's how it went with the older gang. Anyway, I'd like to tell you guys that this week is my finals week so I WILL NOT BE UPDATING until next Sunday at the earliest. That's one reason why I didn't give you a horrible cliffy. So to make you drool with anticipation, in the next chapter you will meet the olderUlrich and Yumiand find out whateverybody does (it will surprise you). Don't forget to review. Enjoy!**


	4. Reunion

**A/N: Finals are over and I did well, which means you get a chapter today. Anyway, I'd just like to remind you that Tristan isn't an ACC. Also, this chapter is one that I personally like for two reasons. One: I put a lot of good ideas into this chapter. Two: For those who don't know I work at Fred Meyer and I decided to put that store and my manager in the story. I think she'll like it.**

**If any of you guys are into anime check out a show called DNAngel. Apparently, in vol. 4 episode 13, Eternal Guide, the writers of the show did the same thing I did. They made the main character time-travel 20 years into the future (keep in mind that I went 4 years, 8 months and 3 days into the future). I guess geniuses think alike. Weird, huh?**

**Janika: It's similar but the she's just stubborn. The main difference between Tristan and her is that Tristan can be reasoned with.**

**thesuperdot: and that's the 100 million dollar question that will be answered later. The first death was just a nobody. I envisioned him as being a lower class person with no family, etc. Not very important. The only impact he had was on Ulrich and you know why.**

**renayumi: Thanks for reviewing. I think you'll like this chapter.**

**RaptorK Beta: Sure but not now. I'll tell you at the end of the story. I have a surprise for everyone.**

**JLyoko: If you're psychic then maybe you could write my next chapter. I'd like to see you try that. As for the revalation…something does happen between U&Y. Read and find out what.**

**Yuri Nishidera: Yeah, there is a possibility that he will depending on what Ulrich does, lol. It makes for a very dramatic situation.**

**Little Vili: Thanks for the support. I'm glad that you're not confused any more.**

**Einstien: X.A.N.A.'s original intent was that he would transfer them into the future. In their absence he would take over the world. However, he didn't count on the future gang helping the younger gang out. He didn't have any back-up plans.**

**Chineschic: no, I guess your first review didn't go through. Yeah, I have a vivid imagination. Be thankful that this is a PG/PG-13 story (I can't stand the new rating system).**

* * *

The younger Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, Jeremie and Aelita along with Tristan rode the elevator of the abandoned factory to the first level. They were headed to the hospital to visit the older Aelita whom Tristan assumed was there by now. He tried to flatten his hair down along the way. 

Along the way up, Odd kept shifting his eyes between Ulrich and Yumi. They noticed this and glared back. He snickered and then burst out into laughter.

"I'm sorry. I just can't wait to see you two now!" the troublemaker exclaimed. Tristan shook his head. The elevator stopped and the giant doors opened. Everyone got out and went up the ladder on the left side. The ropes were still in the same place that they were five years ago and it seemed like nothing had changed in the building.

Tristan broke the silence, "I just got off the phone with Ulrich. He and Yumi will meet us at the hospital."

"Huh, when did you talk to him?" asked Ulrich.

"While we were in the elevator," Tristan answered, walking away.

"How? I didn't see you use a phone." Tristan halted and thought about his response. He didn't want to reveal certain parts of the future to the younger group because if they knew them, then they might upset their own timeline in a negative way.

The secretive man replied, "Actually I did. In my time cell phones are so small that they can be implanted inside people and can also be controlled by that persons' brain activity."

Jeremie was the first to be dumbfounded. He knew of nanotechnology and how it could possibly impact people's lives in the future but he never would have thought that it would be this soon. The young computer genius was simply astonished.

"Are you serious?" asked a very bewildered Aelita.

"Yes, I am," he answered. The gang began again to walk towards the hospital. Along the way Tristan filled them in on what the older gang members did for jobs.

Ulrich managed to get a full scholarship for soccer to a college in town. Being Yumi's boyfriend is a full-time job in itself so he doesn't work. The soccer star told Tristan once that even though he doesn't get paid for it, the benefits are excellent.

Yumi is a clothing model for a modeling company that specializes in the latest fashions. It too is in town and she's been with them for over two years. She had a show today so, naturally, yours truly was with her too.

Jeremie does random odd-jobs in town mostly for computer companies. Since he puts Aelita at the top of his priorities he can't hold a steady job for long. Yumi agreed to subsidize his college tuition since she always has money to spare and also because she considers Aelita to be the sister that her parents should have had.

Tristan has had a job ever since he moved to France from America when he was thirteen. He did random odd-jobs for the two schools he and the gang attended but preferred to be in the medical area as the nurse's assistant. After high school he decided to work for the Hopper Corporation. They research and develop mechanized robotics and also have interests in nanotechnology.

* * *

An eighteen-year-old, brown-haired man sat in a chair near the back of a large room that showcased beautiful girls in the newest clothing. The show today was displaying the latest line of casual wear from Fred Meyer, Inc., a one-stop-shop grocery chain that was opening stores in Europe. 

As the models strutted out on the walkway lights began to flash and shine, illuminating the girls' sexy features. Since it was casual wear the people operating the lights had to work extra hard to interest the potential buyers in the crowd. It made Ulrich nauseated and he left the room twice during the show. Tristan's cell phone call was also a well-needed relief.

Near the end of the clothing line, they saved the skimpiest for last. First was Naomi, a fellow classmate, with a yellow flower in her black hair sporting a short green mini-skirt with a matching bra, that is, if you can call a bundle of leaves a bra. It looked liked she came from the jungle.

As she left the stage the next girl came out. Of all the girls in the back room this one was the one with the most make-up. Her face was plastered with white powder and eye-liner. Her "dress" consisted of golden ear rings with red heart-shaped gems, obviously fake, a large diamond necklace; it too was fake, a red belly-button ring and way too many bracelets. The clothes really didn't matter because she was wearing a mixed-colored strapless tank-top that barely covered her private area and a matching mid-thigh-length skirt with a cut that went all the way up on the right side.

Once she neared the end of the runway, she stopped and turned on all sides, revealing her features and stalling for time. She bent her right leg to enhance her rift to the people in Ulrich's direction. The last lady was approaching her. People took pictures and she finally left after throwing her jet black hair in the direction of the last girl almost hitting her. Some people never change.

The last girl was the prettiest. It was Yumi dressed in a pair of red, skin-tight denim shorts that went a several inches down on the upper part of her legs. Her shoes were black high-heels with red straps. The top was strapless, completely red and revealed just enough to raise Ulrich's eyebrows. Yumi's fingernails were also red clip-ons.

Unlike the two before her, the Japanese girl waved a fan with a red dragon design on it. She then held it in front of her face hiding a devious grin and extended her other arm out and motioned for a certain someone in Ulrich's direction to come to her. People whistled and cheered as she did that. At the same time Sissy had just exited the stage.

"Oh, Doreen, can you believe that?" she asked excitedly. "Those people…they're cheering for me! They love me!"

There were twelve girls in the modeling show. Sissy, Yumi and Naomi were the top three so for her to boast like that wasn't unusual or out of place but it was met with the scornful eye of Naomi. Sissy brushed her snide glare at her off with a, "humph!" and went over to her dressing mirror to change into something actually casual.

Doreen, the groups' manager, came over to her and reminded her to put the clothes that she doesn't want back on the rack next to her that had a white piece of paper saying, "Return to Corp." She brushed her off, telling her that she won't forget this time.

At that time Yumi had just entered the backstage area which signaled the end of the show. The applause died down and she went over to her dressing mirror. Doreen came over to her and told her the same thing that she told Sissy and everyone else. Yumi politely agreed to do so as she had never forgotten in the past.

"Okay, everyone listen up I have an announcement," the middle-aged manager declared. "Due to unexpected expenses by your fellow models, I'm not pointing any fingers at anyone but I'm reminding you that you girls are responsible for all the clothes that you don't want to pay for to be put on the 'Return to Corporate' rack next to Sissy's mirror. Don't forget, otherwise you will be billed."

She then walked over to some papers that were sharing space with one of the other girls' dressing mirrors and examined it. "Oh, I almost forgot. Everyone, we had a great show last week and sold tons of clothes so way to go. Be proud of yourselves!" The girls gave a half-hearted cheer. They weren't paid on commission.

A door creped open and Ulrich stuck his head in the room. He didn't want to catch any girls in their underwear and get slapped again.

"You can come in Ulrich," Yumi said, sweetly. Ulrich jumped out of shock and shyly came in. "It's okay, we're all dressed," she reassured him.

He gently shut the door behind him. Yumi giggled. She took off her high-heels and came over to him. "Your blush matches my outfit," Yumi said and then kissed him.

Naomi cocked her head when the two locked lips and sighed. She said, "You're lucky, Yumi. I wish I had somebody like that."

"Don't worry, Naomi, I'm sure you'll find someone special," she encouraged. Naomi leaned on her seat which doubled as a bench and studied

Yumi's boyfriend with dreamy eyes.

Ulrich noticed this and stopped the argument that would have eventually followed, "Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm Yumi's."

"I know," she replied, lazily. Her answer made Ulrich uncomfortable and he sat down next to Yumi on her bench, trying to get Naomi out of his head.

Yumi finished taking off the small amount of make-up she was wearing, slipped her street shoes on and squirted some perfume on her face. She decided to get the outfit that she wearing. Ulrich insisted that she try out for a Victoria's Secret lingerie line-up. She shook her head immediately at the thought and replied, "You just want to see me in underwear, don't you?"

"Who doesn't? You heard the crowd when you left the stage," Ulrich said, circling his arms around her neck.

Sissy overheard this and became angry. If anyone should be sweet-talked by Ulrich it's her! Yumi and Ulrich's public displays of affection combined with Naomi's envy made the drama queen upset and promised to punish Yumi for taking her Ulrich dear.

Soon after, Sissy was the last person behind the scenes. She put her outfits on the "Return to Corp." rack and spotted Yumi's. Peering around, she made sure that nobody else was here. Then in an act of war, she took Yumi's outfits off the rack and placed them neatly on her dressing mirror.

* * *

Outside, Yumi and Ulrich were walking together, holding hands. 

A loud truck came by as Ulrich said, "Tristan called me during the show."

"Who?" she asked. Ulrich repeated himself. "What does he want?"

"He wants us to come by the hospital and see Aelita. He also said that today was the day that our younger selves went into the future."

"Are you serious?" Yumi exclaimed, ignoring Ulrich's mellow-tone voice, "That's wonderful!"

However, Ulrich couldn't share her feelings. Yes, he would get to see himself and the others which many people would literally kill for just to be in his position but this was something that he didn't believe he was ready for.

"Odd is also with them," he finished his thought. Yumi gasped.

* * *

The younger gang waited patiently with Tristan in the waiting room of the hospital. They were trying without success to get comfortable on the old furniture. The nurse said that none of them could see Aelita until Jeremie came out which could be a while. 

To pass the time Odd kept asking questions about the older gang, specifically, Ulrich and Yumi. Tristan answered the questions that weren't ridiculous but it was getting on Ulrich's nerves. Finally, he got up and took some change out of his pockets.

"Odd, here, take this and go find a vending machine," he said, angrily. It was a distraction that Odd couldn't refuse. The spiky-haired annoyance thanked him and ran off in the hallway, dragging an innocent victim known as Jeremie along with him.

"Thanks, Ulrich," Tristan said, "I owe you one."

"Don't mention it," he replied.

"Aelita," her new friend addressed her, "Because my Aelita has a limited amount of time I want you to see her next when Jeremie comes out." She nodded in agreement and went to wait in front of her door. The young Aelita still claimed responsibility for what was happening.

At that time Tristan noticed a scent in the air and sniffed around him. "Well, it looks like Yumich's here," he stated.

"Yumich?" Ulrich asked.

"It's what I call Ulrich and Yumi since they're always together," Tristan said, "It's more efficient to say one name instead of two." Ulrich moaned and Yumi grinned. Both of them were getting sick of the jokes about them.

Tristan looked behind him. Only Yumi was there. "Well, it looks like I'm wrong. Where's your counter-part?" he asked.

Yumi gave him a slight hit on the head and took his bandana. She threw it across the room. The young Ulrich and Yumi saw what was being covered by the red piece of cloth and stared at it as he picked it up and put it back on.

"Yumi" answered his question, "He's outside the door 'preparing himself mentally'. I think he's worried about seeing Odd again."

"I'll see what I can do," replied Tristan as he walked down the hallway toward the double-doors.

"Thanks."

"Yumi" walked to where she was in front of the two kids. Ulrich stared at her and Yumi was speechless. She didn't know where to begin.

"So, are you going to introduce me to that cutie next to you or what?" "Yumi" asked, teasingly.

"You already know Ulrich," she said frustrated at yet another Ulrich and Yumi joke.

"Come here, Ulrich, I want to see you," "Yumi" said. Like a mouse and a mouse trap, he walked over to her nervously. She bent down, studied his face then smiled. Then the trap sprung.

"Yumi" engaged Ulrich's lips with her own and gave him the biggest and longest kiss he had ever known. She planned this from the beginning. The older and wiser Yumi knew that unless the two younger ones got a push out the door neither of them would have the nerve to ask each other out.

Yumi stared wide-eyed and in awe. She couldn't believe what she was doing. Although, technically it wasn't her doing it, it still felt like it was. However, jealousy consumed her as "Yumi" tried to deepen the kiss. The younger one got out of her chair and stood up in protest.

"Yumi" stopped the kiss and whispered into his ear, "I've always wanted to do that." He gasped and she smiled. Ulrich was blushing like mad and began to sweat from embarrassment.

The older Yumi stood up and turned her head just in time to see the older Ulrich and Tristan turn the corner. They were completely unaware of what just happened.

The older Ulrich wore simple clothes like he always had. His legs were covered with blue jeans and his chest with a green t-shirt.

Yumi was still in shock from the last event but when she saw him her heart beat rapidly increased. She started to get nervous as she observed the soccer star. That shirt was a muscle shirt that begged to be ripped off! The young teen just stared at the handsome man.

"Are you ready?" "Yumi" asked "Ulrich".

"Yeah, let's get this over with," he replied, a little downcast.

Tristan noticed that the younger Ulrich and Yumi were both blushing. He had no idea as to what "Yumi" did but it somehow embarrassed both of the kids.

"What did you do?" Tristan asked, quietly and confused.

"Oh…nothing," she replied with a smirk.

However, before they were able to go into the hallways and search for the troublesome teen a girl from the modeling show came into view. She said in a high-pitched all-too-familiar annoying voice, "Ulrich dear. We need to talk." Both versions cringed at the sound there name being used as a cliché. This could only mean one thing: blackmail.

* * *

**A/N: I have a special announcement for you people who like my stories. At the end of this story there is going to be a special…story. That is I'm going to tell you a few things about Tristan that you don't know. Yes, I know this is vague but just keep in mind that nothing is what it seems. Later.**


	5. The Ultimate Blackmail

**A/N: I must say, I like writing this story. The whole idea just intrigues me. I'm sure that you'll agree with me. Anyway, on with the reviews!**

**renayumi: Thanks for the compliments and thanks for reviewing. Enjoy.**

**Yuri Nishidera: You are going to like this chapter. That kiss is the main reason why I made this story. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Janika: I'll help you out, don't worry. About the surgery thing and cell phones, it's just with Tristan. I mean he's the only one who has such a thing. If you liked the last chapter then you'll love this one.**

**Chineschic: Sissy is annoying and always will be. Don't worry I get back at her in this chapter. You will love this. Don't worry about Tristan, I'll reveal a few things every now and then about him but for the most part I'm going to save it for the end.**

**RaptorK Beta: Thanks for the tip. I'll be sure to change that later. Anyway, the bandana cover a scar from the 1st electrical incident (I said so in ch. 2). The implant isn't exactly in his head either. I'll explain more at the end of the story.**

**Little Vili: Yeah, I like it too. I thought it was a little predictable. Believe it or not but that scene was the main reason for writing this story. I just had to think about it then write about it.**

**thesuperdot: Nope not in this story. He might in another one (hint, hint) but not today.**

**Jlyoko: I hope for this story to be about 9 or 10 chapters. It depends on what I want to write about. Anyway, yeah Ulrich does break down. Nothing is what it seems with Tristan, let me assure you that.**

* * *

An older and more annoying Sissy strutted towards "Ulrich". She continued, "It's important."

Both Ulrichs were already familiar this tactic and responded in the same way. "No it's not," they spoke in unison. Upon hearing each others voice, they turned to one another.

Sissy stopped and studied the children behind "Ulrich". One of them looked almost identical to the object of her affection. The other appeared like she was related to Yumi.

"Ulrich", "Yumi" and Tristan wondered it their secret would be revealed. It would spell disaster if it was, especially to a person like Sissy. Tristan immediately thought of ways to divert the conversation away from the younger kids and to rationalize their presence. However, he never got the chance to speak.

"Oh, how adorable!" Sissy shrieked. "I didn't know you had a little brother!" She then slithered over to the younger Ulrich. "He's sooooo cute!" she exclaimed, pinching his left cheek.

"Will you stop that?" he tried to say, whipping his arm out and knocking Sissy's grip on his tender face into the air.

Sissy giggled at his reaction. It was typical of some kids his age. "Not even interested in girls yet, huh?" She giggled. "This is priceless."

"Oh, I like girls, just not ones that are full of themselves!" he responded, rubbing his cheek which hosted a rather large pinkish pinch.

"Sissy, what do you want?" the older Ulrich declared, sternly. The pestering of his younger self was getting on his nerves. He wanted this time to be fun for them, not torturous. The fact that she was even in his presence at this time after the show angered him even more.

She responded that she needed to talk to "Ulrich" in private. Then she entwined her arm with his and dragged him away from Yumi and outside the double doors like a romantic couple.

Outside, Sissy informed "Ulrich" that she had removed "Yumi's" clothes from the "Return to Corp" rack and put them on her dressing mirror. Then she followed him here. The catch was that if "Ulrich" didn't give "Yumi" up this instant then she would be forced to pay for her entire wardrobe which would be equivalent to about three months worth of salary.

She continued her blackmail, "…and if you tell Yumi and she calls Doreen then I'll make sure that she won't be in the next few shows since my dad has a voice in the college board and can easily do some…disciplinary measures. I'm sure you know how that'll affect her."

Two years ago, a modeling agency was formed in Paris and asked Principal Delmas, the principal at Kadic High at that time, if they could host a screening for potential models at the high school. He agreed and let them do their try-outs. When all was said and done, three students from the school were on the list for the next show. "Yumi" and Sissy were, of course, two of the three. However, in order to continue modeling the girls had to keep a "B" average and stay out of trouble.

When Sissy and the rest of the class of 2011 graduated, her dad was promoted to the Disciplinary Committee for the college that the gang and Sissy currently attend. What Sissy said was true and he could and would do that for his daughter.

"Ulrich", was stunned that she'd go this far to get "Yumi" out of his life. She knew that "Yumi" had always been the love of his life ever since he joyfully told her that they were a couple many years ago. They had gone out on countless dates with and without her intervening yet she still couldn't get the point. "Ulrich" had told Sissy as many times as there are stars in the sky that he will never fall in love with her.

"Ulrich" scanned his surroundings. They were the only ones outside. "Sissy, I've been waiting a while to do this. Looking back, I should have done this a _long_ time ago…."

The girl couldn't be more thrilled with his response. Sissy was so shocked that she almost fell backwards off the cement hand rail that she was sitting on.

"So, that means that you'll…," Sissy began but stopped because her next few words made her speechless.

"Ulrich" finished her sentence, "It means that YOU need to take a hint and leave Yumi _and_ me alone!" He was red in the face. This was by far the worst Sissy attack that had ever happened. Never before had she done something that would actually inflict serious harm and either "Ulrich" or "Yumi". She had to be stopped once and for all. Unfortunately, the only way to do that was to knock some sense into her, literally.

"Ulrich" drew back his arm just like he had thousands of times in Lyoko with his sword and thrust it in the dead center of Sissy's face, right between the eyes. The force of the hit was so intense that she flew off the railing rather than falling. His class ring which he always wore as a reminder of his accomplishments made an imprint on her skin. The last "1" in 2011 looked like an "L" since he hit her from an angle.

Two garbage cans with plastic bags of junk broke her fall but couldn't do anything for her face. She was temporarily unconscious from his explosive anger. "Ulrich" took advantage of this time and left the scene.

"Yumi" met "Ulrich" halfway in the hallway before the corner. She had seen this scene all too many times and knew how to handle it. She asked, "So, what is it this time?"

The punch left "Ulrich" with a mental sickness. He had never before punched anyone, even when he got fouled in soccer and the referee made a bad call. His anger was justifiable but it just didn't feel right for him to do that.

An emotionally torn "Ulrich" replied, "I don't want to talk about it." He then tried to walk around "Yumi" but she stopped him.

The girl understood "Ulrich" more than he knew. She could tell by his actions that something big happened and she didn't want him to deal with it alone. "Ulrich, please, you promised me that we wouldn't have any secrets between us."

The older Ulrich gave in and told her the whole deal. "Yumi" was sympathetic to him but not because he felt guilty for what he did but because he finally stood up to Sissy. She hugged him and then led him back to the others.

Odd and Jeremie had found their way back to the group. With the change that the younger Ulrich gave Odd, Jeremie bought a candy bar called "Einstein Crunch" and Odd purchased a newspaper and a small snickers. He didn't get anything for the others because they ran out of money.

The fact that Odd was actually reading stunned his roommate. It was completely out-of-character for him. He asked, quizzically, "Odd, why are you reading a newspaper?"

The paper-reading person doubled the pages over to see him. He replied, "Lottery numbers. It was 98 million last week with no winners."

"That's not a bad idea," Tristan commented, "assuming that nothing you do will affect the numbers."

"Odd," the older Ulrich said. Ever since his friends' death "Ulrich" had always had a soft spot for him. Whenever people discussed him even in the slightest terms he got very defensive. "Yumi" was holding his hand for support, it was shaking.

The spiky-haired kid turned around and looked at his older roommate. He set the paper down and walked over to him. His emotions weren't as troubling as his friends' but he knew that this must be very troubling for him from what Tristan told them. "Hey buddy," he said nervously, "…I guess it's been a while."

There was no more than three feet between the two. "Ulrich" didn't know what to say. He was just stared at him and let his emotions do the talking. Odd also broke the silence and greeted "Yumi". She responded with, "Hi, Odd. It's nice to see you." Then, "Ulrich" let go of his girlfriends' hand and embraced his friend. His eyes became teary as he inhaled the all too familiar smell that was so distinctively Odd. He had very much missed his friend.

"Yumi" smiled at yet another display of "Ulrich" emotions. For some time she had encouraged him to be more social and open with his feelings. Secretly, she hoped that this day would bring some much needed closure for him.

"Ulrich" stayed like that for about a half minute. He didn't want to let Odd go again but he had to. When he did Odd told him, "I was told about what happened to me. Don't worry, Ulrich, we'll make sure that won't happen in my time."

* * *

"Jeremie" sat next to his beloved "Aelita" in her hospital room. They talked about anything that was on their minds. That is, everything that "Aelita" hadn't experienced yet. Even though the older Aelita had taken far more trips to the real world than her younger self she still had only a finite number of experiences.

"So what's it like in Eiffel's tower?" she asked.

"Jeremie" laughed at her naïve-ness. Her lack of knowledge and innocence were two things that he fell in love with. He had always enjoyed correcting her and teaching her new things. The genius replied, "It's not Eiffel's Tower, Aelita, it's _the_ Eiffel Tower and the view is spectacular."

She laughed at her own ignorance. Then "Jeremie" joined her. As the two enjoyed each other company they heard people talking outside the door.

"I guess the others are here," Aelita said. Jeremie concurred. They exchanged good-byes and the older Einstein exited the room.

The younger Aelita was sitting on the floor next to the room's entrance. Her knees were pulled tightly against her chest and her arms were wrapped around them. She was startled when "Jeremie" came out.

"Oh, hi Jeremie," she spoke softly.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked.

"Okay," she answered, "…I think."

"Hey, don't let this bother you. We're going to help you. Everything will be fine, you'll see," he reassured her.

"Tristan said that I should be the next to see the older me," Aelita confessed. She knew that a hospital was a place where people go to die so to hear that her older self was here frightened her.

"Jeremie" helped her up and she went in the room. Then he joined the others.

Aelita closed the door gently, not wanting to disturb her older self if she were asleep. Quietly, she stepped over to the edge of her bed.

Her older self's eyes opened to see her. A smile appeared on "Aelita's" face. She wanted to tell her so much about living and life in the real world, the experiences that she had with "Jeremie" and the others, experiences that she hoped one day that her younger self would participate in too.

Aelita's older version reached up and touched her hand. The wire from the glucose drop followed her and also touched the younger one's body. This scared her and she stepped back quivering in fear.

"It's okay Aelita. It doesn't hurt," the older one said.

"W-what is it?" she asked, curiously.

Not wanting to get into medical terminology that she wouldn't understand the older girl replied, "It helps me stay awake."

She pointed to another one and asked, "And that one?"

"It monitors my heart beat."

"This one?"

"It makes it so I don't have to get up to go to the bathroom." Her older self could see the fear in her trembling knees. She spoke, hoping to calm her nerves, "Aelita, don't worry. Everything is okay."

However, her younger self couldn't understand why she said that. Everything was not okay. First, Odd might die. Second, the threat of X.A.N.A. was still there and worse than ever. Third, they still needed to get back to their own time. On top of that this whole mess could be attributed to her selfish want of being materialized. The younger one started crying.

"Aelita, what's wrong?" she asked then coughed.

That cough startled her younger self. To her it meant that she was dying, for only the sick and dying cough. Knowing that Odd might die was one thing but to be in her own presence when her future self died, she couldn't bear it. The emotional girl ran out of the room crying like a little child.

She found her way to the Jeremie who first discovered her and buried her face in his chest.

"Jeremie, I want to go home, back to our time," she chocked out of her tear-pouring face.

"Aelita, what is it?" Jeremie asked, embracing her. She told him that her older self was dying and she didn't want to be there when she actually did and that the cause was because of her desire to be materialized. Tristan assured her that there won't be any serious problems until later that evening and that it wasn't because of her that "Aelita" was suffering. However, due to her lack of knowledge his statement didn't help her.

In his experience, there was only one thing that could calm Aelita down and that was to spend time with Jeremie, alone. Tristan pulled out his wallet and took out a plastic card and a flat plastic bag no bigger than one square inch. He handed the card to the younger Jeremie who accepted it.

Tristan instructed him, "Take this. It's my universal I.D. card. It works pretty much like the debit cards of your time except you don't have a pin number." He then pealed off a layer of plastic from the bag and put the pressed the remainder on the top-side of Jeremie's right hand. "This is a salt solution that is unique to my body. Without it the card won't work. This will last for twenty-four hours." Tristan finished pressing and took off the patch.

"What is this for?" Jeremie asked.

"There is a carnival in town around the tower," his friend replied, "I want you to take Aelita there and have both of you have the time of your lives tonight. My card pretty much has an unlimited balance."

"I doubt that," "Yumi" replied.

"Come on, Yumi, what could they possibly spend THAT much money on?" Tristan refuted.

"You obviously, don't know anything about girls," she replied in an all-knowing tone.

"Ulrich" butted in, "No, he just doesn't know you." Surprisingly, there wasn't any reaction to from the older companion.

"Well, whatever," the generous man declared, "Get going you two, the night is young."

With that, the two exited the hospital and went to the carnival.

The younger gang took turns seeing the older Aelita. First was Odd. Aelita had missed his sense of humor and quirky jokes. Making her laugh again wasn't very hard and cheered her up to the point of which that she almost forgot she was infected with a virus.

Ulrich came in next. She told him that Yumi loved him dearly. He was sick of people making jokes about him and her and asked "Aelita" to not reveal anything more to either him or Yumi. Ulrich wanted to figure things out on his own and change the subject.

Yumi was told that Ulrich would be the love of her life. "Aelita" ignored Ulrich's plead because she knew it was for the better. She answered all of Yumi's questions about Ulrich and everything else that was on her mind.

Unfortunately, Jeremie went with Aelita to the carnival and couldn't see her. She understood this and hoped that some time during this trip she would get to talk to him.

* * *

The others with the exception of Jeremie left the hospital and went to the college dorms that they everyone but "Yumi" lived at. "Jeremie" insisted that he be with "Aelita" just in case the virus progressed and they'd have to return her to Lyoko.

"That went well," the older Aelita said.

"Except for your younger self," Jeremie replied.

She giggled. "Yeah, I can't believe I was that…clueless."

"I can," he responded scooting his chair closer to her bed, smiling.

She sat up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for staying, Jeremie," she said as his face turned a light red. No matter how much time they spend together Aelita always had a way of making Jeremie feel special and vice-a-versa.

"Jeremie, what's that?" she asked pointing to a little red dot on his chest. It was blood. He spotted another drop of it on his pants and another on the bed rail. Then there were several on "Aelita's" hospital gown. Finally, he traced the red stains to their origin: her nose.

Quickly, Jeremie grabbed a near-by tissue box and handed a few to her. She clogged her nose with them and "Jeremie" cleaned up the other drops.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. "Aelita" nodded.

"Do you think you can hold out until the night?"

"Yes," she responded, "If anything I'll do it for my younger self. She needs the younger you right now." "Jeremie" agreed.

The nose bleed was a sign that the virus was progressing. It had three stages. The first, were nose bleeds. Some time later, the second stage would affect her vision and eventually she'd become blind. The third stage occurs when "Aelita" goes through fainting spells and later becomes complete unconscious. Nobody knows what happens after that but the gang could imagine that it wasn't good. The amount of time between the stages has varied in all of her previous trips to the real world so there was no telling how much time she had left.

* * *

**A/N: for those of you who don't know J&A is my favorite couple to write about so expect a nice scene with those two in the next chapter. Also, do review. I do like hearing from people. Until next time, may you kiss you future bf/gf soon.**


	6. Creative Financing

**A/N: Only a few more chapters to go. I can't wait to tell you guys the surprise I have at the end. Anyway, just to let you know, I'm on my vacation this week so I'm trying to type the story and juggle a bunch of other things at the same time. Be patient with the updating. It might be a week or so before you get another installment.**

**Neo Aguni: I'm glad you like it. I'll try to update but like I said, I'm on vacation.**

**thesuperdot: Jeremie should be up to that task sometime in the future. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Renayumi: Thanks for reviewing. Here's another great chapter.**

**D Wolf Falls: You bet I'm going to talk about the carnival! Although I'm not going to dedicate the entire chapter to it. I think everybody's in agreement with Sissy getting hit.**

**Yuriko Nishidera: Something close. Sissy will continue to be tormented as long as I'm around!**

**Janika: It wasn't a punch to the jaw, it was between the eyes! I purposely made it so that you'd see the "L" on her forehead. It just tells you what kind of person she really is. Ulrich is always having girl problems. He always has and always will.**

**Chineschic: I'll think about your suggestion but I don't think that there's anything I can do. Read the chapter twice, I suppose is a good idea. Yeah, J&A can be very fun to write about.**

* * *

The younger Ulrich and Yumi along with their older selves, Odd and Tristan walked to the dormitories of the college that their future beings attended. They didn't go in silence, though. Odd kept stirring up conversations with is older roommate about the times he and "Ulrich" remember.

He reminded the group that he was the one who figured out the key to Aelita's materialization by dropping some candy on Jeremie's keyboard some time ago. Nobody knew how it affected the code (except Jeremie) but that seemed to get it working.

"Ulrich" said, "Jeremie didn't tell us that side of the story."

"No, he didn't," Yumi agreed.

Both were under the impression that Jeremie figured it out after cleaning up Odd's "candy type". They had no idea that he actually _contributed_ to her materialization. It was a revelation that made everyone laugh.

Soon enough the group of friends made it to "Ulrich" and Tristan's dorm room. Tristan opened the door and let everyone in. As they entered, a little light-brown dog began to bark at the new comers.

"Kiwi!" Odd shouted. He could hardly believe that his dog would live this long.

The menacing mutt jumped on him and almost licked him to death. It seemed as if he still remembered his former master, after all, it was impossible for one to forget such a person. Odd calmed the dog down and held him in his lap on the floor. "Ulrich" sat next to him.

"I…I couldn't give him up," "Ulrich" started, choking back reminiscent memories of the past.

He needed something tangible of Odd over the years to keep his mind from getting depressed. Every time the older Ulrich saw the dog that belonged to his former roommate, he would remember the good times with his friend. The way the dog was so careless and loyal encouraged him to live because the pet was a constant reminder that his friend still lived on in his memory.

Originally, Odd's parents had asked for the dog but after "Yumi" explained "Ulrich's" ordeal to them, they decided that it would be best if he kept it.

Dogs and any animals except for small fish were illegal to house inside the dorms. The times may have changed but the rules certainly hadn't. Like before the accident, "Ulrich" still would have to keep him hidden throughout the day.

"So what do you guys want to do?" the older Yumi asked, taking a seat next to Tristan on his bed.

Tristan, being the business person that he was, wanted to get the problem of the younger gang going back to their time resolved. He scooted over to his computer desk then reached over the gray top and grabbed a green safe. Ulrich's future roommate unlocked and opened the case and took out two DVDs and a note.

"Here is what we're going to give you guys to take back to your time," he announced. Tristan gave them to Ulrich who was the only one who had pockets and was also reliable. The first DVD was Aelita's antivirus. The second was the incomplete firewall program. The note was to go to Tristan's younger self once the younger group befriends him. He warned them not to read it.

"Yumi" had a good idea about what the note said. To be honest, she didn't believe that what was written on that piece of paper should be kept for only him. She insisted, "Tristan, I think you should tell our younger selves a few things about yourself." Her arm was wrapped around his neck and rested on his right shoulder.

Tristan was stunned that "Yumi" would bring up such a topic especially when he told her not to beforehand. The mysterious man questioned whether or not his trust had been misplaced.

He reminded, "Yumi, we talked out this before."

She replied, "Yes but I think it would be better if you would tell them now."

Tristan stood up and announced, "I don't think so. Guys, there are certain things that would be better explained if you learned about them first-hand. So…don't ask." He went to his small closest behind his bed and picked up a soccer ball. He added, "Come on, let's go play some soccer." Then he exited the room. "Yumi" sighed.

The younger Yumi asked, "Is there something that we need to know?"

"Yumi" replied, "I suppose but he's very sensitive about it." She felt guilty for bringing up the subject but after seeing the note she thought that maybe he had a change of heart about it.

"Ulrich" added, "His younger self will tell you when he feels he can trust you. Trust and respect are two things that he cherishes very deeply so try not to get on his bad side if you're curious."

"Ulrich" led the way out the door and the rest followed. They caught up with Tristan who went to "Jeremie's" room for the third DVD that contained the program that the older group was handed down from the Aelita that they visited in their future in the hallway. He handed it to the younger Ulrich and everyone went outside for a very special game of soccer: younger VS older.

* * *

The young computer scientist sat next to the pink-haired girl fifty feet above the ground. They were in the front of a rollercoaster and both were screaming their heads off. However, you could easily mistake Jeremie's voice for a girls' as he was genuinely scared to death. He had never before done something as crazy as ride a rollercoaster. As a matter of fact, the only reason why he was even on this mechanical monster was because Aelita wanted to see what it was.

After a tumbling spiral to the ground, the ride came to a stop and let its occupants stumbled out of their seats. However, Jeremie did so a little too dazed and tripped over the stairs that led to solid ground.

"Jeremie!" Aelita called, worried. She bent down and helped him up. His glasses were off balance and she straightened them out. "Are you okay?" she asked.

The spinning in his eyes and mind was still churning. "Ohhhhh…I think so," he said while struggling to make his way to a table with Aelita's help. Once they reached the plastic table and chairs, she set him down placed herself next to him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Too much spinning…" was his only reply. He ran out of her kind touch to behind a shack that was being used as a merchant's selling post and expelled his last meal.

Aelita heard the sounds of pain come from him and became worried. She had a fun time on the rollercoaster that she didn't think it could affect Jeremie like this. The girl had never seen or heard of somebody doing what Jeremie was doing. She went over to him and called his name.

"So much spinning," he replied and emptied the rest of his stomachs' contents on the ground.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"No, its motion sickness…I think," he answered. Jeremie wasn't sure what it was because like is stomach it seemed like his brain was also being spun around inside his head.

The spinning had stopped for the most part and they headed back to the table. Aelita inquired about his sudden illness and Jeremie explained to her what it meant to be motion sick.

Jimbo, the big fat clown came over to the couple and introduced himself. He was in a bright and big red costume with multi-colored high-lighted hair and the classic red squeezable nose. He had Aelita smell his flower on his jump suit and squirted water on her. She was appalled at such an act. Jimbo and Jeremie laughed at how easily she fell into the joke.

Jimbo then offered his handkerchief to clean her face and she took it. As it was pulled a second clothe came out, tied to the end of the first one. Aelita pulled that one and out came a third, then a fourth, then a fifth, etc.

"Well, are you going to take one or what?" the clown asked. It wasn't until the eleventh one that Aelita realized that this string of clothes wouldn't end. She took one at random and used it to dry her face off. The look on her face was priceless to Jeremie when she figured the puzzle out.

He began his sale pitch, "So, how about a balloon for the lady? They're only fifty cents." The girl was still mad at the clown at wanted him to leave but Jeremie decided to buy one anyway. He then tied a three-dimensional floating figure of the Eiffel Tower onto her wrist and smiled.

The clown extended his arm in appreciation of the sale and Aelita took it, reluctantly. Jimbo gripped her hand tightly and the buzzer in his palm shocked Aelita so much that she screamed like Jeremie on the roller coaster.

Jeremie doubled over, laughing at such innocents. She had no idea what it was or that it was one of the oldest pranks ever done. It was something that he expected Odd to pull on April fool's day. He would remember to tell him to do something like this when they returned.

Jimbo left the scene in a hurry for hell had no fury like a scorned woman. Aelita was angry but Jeremie convinced her stay put and not leave.

"Aelita, he was trying to be obnoxious," he told her.

"He most certainly was!" she proclaimed, still confused at the recent event. "I don't like clowns," she muttered, angrily, crossing her arms. He rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to ease her frustration.

As the clown disappeared into the sea of people Aelita noticed a house in the middle of the carnival. She couldn't understand why anybody would live in the middle of a fair. Maybe the clown lived there. The girl asked Jeremie who lived in the dwelling place and he told her that it was a haunted house.

A house being haunted could only mean one thing the girl: X.A.N.A. After all, who _could_ possess a house other than X.A.N.A.?

At first she was nervous but once she was in line with Jeremie and couldn't feel X.A.N.A.'s presences she relaxed. The boy slid Tristan's card in the swipe, confirmed his purchase with the salt on his hand and the two entered.

They entered into a pitch black room and the Aelita squeezed Jeremie's arm tightly. Suddenly, lights began to flash and the floor started to move. It was rotating in a circular motion. Five exits were high-lighted with neon lights. A voice came out of a stuffed boar's head on the wall in front of them and told them to choose a door. Jeremie lead Aelita into the blue high-lighted door. As they entered a laugh came from head and called them fools.

The door slammed shut the next hallway was dimly illuminated. Cobwebs were everywhere. They hung from the ceiling and were wrapped around wall props. A gentle breeze blew through the room and the webs began to move as the two crept forward.

Two small red dots were brought on-line in the distance and moved forward. It was attached to the roof and moved along a track that was kept hidden. As it neared them Jeremie began to question what making the wind.

A demonic roar bellowed from the mechanical beast and two stage hands acted to be the monsters' arms as it came within arms reach of the kids. They grabbed and pulled at the two. Aelita screamed and Jeremie ran, dragging her with him down the hall. The two caught their breaths in a corner that lead to the next room.

This carnival would be an experience that Aelita and Jeremie would not forget.

**

* * *

**

"Ulrich", "Yumi" and Tristan were supposed to be on the same team but to make things even Tristan and Odd switched teams. Even though Tristan was a replacement on the soccer team he was better than Ulrich defensively so it was always an interesting match between the two.

The game had been going on for almost an hour. "Ulrich" scored one goal and Yumi made one as well so the score was tied at one per team.

Odd had gained possession of the ball from a now tired Yumi and dribbled it towards the goal. Ulrich attempted to steal it but he didn't count on Odd faking him out. Tristan prepared for the encounter as goalie.

As Odd's foot made contact with the ball, he measured its path and stepped to the left. The ball was kicked and flew towards him. He caught it with ease. Scanning the field, he caught sight of "Ulrich" talking with his younger self. Tristan took advantage of this distraction and threw the fully-inflated ball at his head.

"Ulrich" was panting by his younger self and didn't even notice the fast-ball. It hit him in the back of the head and he fell to the ground.

Tristan smiled and shouted at him, "That's what you get for taking my math notes last week without asking!"

The young Ulrich made a mental note to not take thing from Tristan without his knowing.

That hit was the unofficial end of the game. Everyone came over to "Ulrich" who was still dealing with the rotating figures around him.

"Did Tristan hit you THAT hard?" Ulrich asked.

"Ohhhh," was his only reply.

"Yumi" answered for him, "A few years before we meet Tristan he was involved with an accident that made it so that he couldn't feel things in his right arm. That means he can't judge his strength either, although I'm sure he meant to hit him pretty hard." She then glared at the kicker of the ball. He gave her an unconcerned look and turned his attention to "Ulrich's" pocket that was vibrating.

"Yumi" reached in and pulled out his cell phone. She answered it. The older Jeremie was on the other line and sounded concerned. Aelita had gone into the second stage of the virus and they needed to get her back inside Lyoko immediately. He feared that the virus was progressing quicker than he had calculated. "Yumi" calmed him down and told him that they'd meet him there in a few minutes.

"It looks like Aelita needs to get back to Lyoko," she summarized the phone conversation. "Ulrich" managed to stand up and walk and they all left for the hospital.

* * *

The older gang and their respective younger selves (minus Jeremie and Aelita) met with "Jeremie" in front of "Aelita's" door. He explained that she was beginning to loose her vision.

Tristan made his way over to the service desk and asked to pay for the bills that "Aelita" had accumulated so that she may be released. As Jenee, the attendant, gave him the papers he realized that he had given his U.I.D. card to the younger Jeremie so he had no way of paying for her visit.

He called "Yumi" over and she filled out the files. However, when she gave Jenee her card she discovered that she was overdrawn. Her immediate thought was of Sissy and her blackmail. Although, having Ulrich punch the daylights out of her was defiantly worth it, the group needed funds.

"Ulrich" and "Jeremie" tried there cards only to come up short with their combined efforts. The older group wasn't surprised at the two not having much cash but Tristan was a little suspicious.

He whispered to him, "Hey, just how expensive was you date with Yumi last Friday?"

"Lobster dinner and desert," he told him. Tristan nodded in understanding.

"We need to find some creative financing," Tristan announced. He then led everyone out of the hearing range of Jenee and discussed the situation.

"Any ideas?" "Ulrich" asked.

"I don't want to disturb Jeremie and Aelita on their date," Tristan admitted, "We should leave them alone."

Nobody said anything for about a minute. They all thought of different ways to free Aelita from her Earthly prison. To be trapped like this was kind of ironic. It had always been Lyoko that she was trying to break free from and now she needed to get back to it to survive.

A spark flickered in Odd's mind. He had gotten an idea. The troublesome teen suggested, "Well, if we can't pay her bills then why don't we just steal her?"

"You're insane, Odd," Tristan scolded.

* * *

**A/N: just to let you know it's one of my goals to get 10 reviews per chapter so I'd appreciate it if you did leave a little something on your way out. Right now, I'm only 3 reviews behind from meeting my quota for the last chapter. I'll try to review peoples' stories as well but it's going to be hard to find the time. Have a great weekend all!**


	7. Paging Doctor Tristan

**A/N: Well, it's been a while. Sorry for the delay I've just been busy doing many different things. Anyway, I'm sure you're all scratching your heads wondering "What is this story about again?" To answer that let me rephrase the summary: "The gang goes 5 years into the future and meets their future selves." That's pretty much what this is about and right now the older Aelita is having a tough time with some new virus.**

**renayumi: Thanks for the love. I feel much better now. The updating is an issue but I'll try my best. Thanks for stopping by.**

**Janika: Yeah, sorry for not asking first. I'll make it up to you. Anyway, it's actually a coincidence that our plots turned out similar. I really didn't have your story in mind when I wrote this.**

**Shadowedstar213: Thanks for reviewing. I'll try to update quicker for the next chapter but who knows.**

**Chinesechic: I know how you feel but I don't think I can do much for you. Maybe if I called the older gang the older 'person' instead of using quotes. I'll have to think about that.**

**thesuperdot: The reason for that is simple. When Aelita is in Lyoko her virus is in the realm of computers. Once she becomes materialized, though, he problem become medical. The code won't do anything for her body once it's materialized. The show mentioned this once so I don't blame you for asking. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Angel of Dreams: Yes, you will but not right now. The whole deal with Tristan will be cleared up at the end of the story.**

**Nikana Olos: You're the only one who caught that reference so congratulations. I also have some more things like that in this chapter. Enjoy.**

**D Wolf Falls: It will be fun. Trust me. Although he doesn't exactly steal her he does play a large part in it.**

**aZn SiStEr: I don't like Sissy either. Yeah, I thought Odd would come up with a plan like that. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Animefreak32046: I'll try to get to your story but like I said I've been very busy as of recently. Anyway, I don't quite understand your question but as the story progresses I think your question will be answered in one way or another.**

**Siberian-Tigress: Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate the comment.**

* * *

**This Chapter is Dedicated to :**

**Janika**

**For letting me use her name without permission in the last chapter.**

* * *

The group discussed different ideas for freeing the older Aelita from her manmade prison. However, in the end they all agreed that Odd's idea was the most plausible. 

"So how would we go about stealing her?" asked the older Ulrich.

The trouble maker thought for a second and suggested that they break the windows and take her out that way since they were on the first floor. Tristan shot the idea down saying that the windows were double-panned, too hard to break and would make too much noise.

"How exactly do you know that Tristan?" Odd wondered.

The mysterious man ignored his question and took the idea a step further. He suggested, "We can't just take her out of her room for all to see because of the security so how about one of us dresses up like a doctor and walks out with her though the front door?"

"Hey!" Odd exclaimed from the fact that Tristan purposely ignored him. He didn't like to be ignored.

The other shunned Odd's response and pondered the idea. "Ulrich" asked, "It's a good idea but how do we get an OR scrub or a white lab coat?"

Yumi answered, "We'll have to take it."

Her older self added, "Yeah but how do we get one and without anyone knowing?"

* * *

At that time Jenee, the attendant at the service desk, gave the approval for Aelita Lyoko's emergency operation. She adjusted her stats on her computer and told the team of three doctors to go ahead and prep her. There was a fourth doctor but he was running a little late from lunch. The three left Jenee and went into "Aelita's" room. 

One of the five security guards on duty came up to her and asked about the patient. She wasn't supposed to talk about other peoples' information but this case got to her personally. "Aelita" and Jenee were both the same age.

Miss Lyoko would be prepared for an extensive brain operation that would hopefully remove her cancer. Her chances of survival weren't too good since her friends discovered her cancer after it attacked her.

* * *

Tristan and his sensitive hearing caught the conversation and formed a plan. He asked, "Ulrich…" both versions looked at him with blank expressions, "uhhh…_younger_ Ulrich, do you have any change left?" 

The younger boy searched his pockets and found six coins whose combined total was 63 cents. He replied, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"I have an idea," Tristan answered. He asked for the change and Ulrich gave it to him. Then he made a trail with the legal tenders from the hallway and into the men's restroom.

This was a trap that no doctor could resist. Tristan knew this from many experiences he had when he worked with medical professionals. They all wanted money and lots of it. If there were a way doctors could make a dollar more each day they would. Gathering spare change was no exception.

Tristan informed the gang that one of the doctors was running late from lunch and would be coming through the front door any minute. The change would lead the unsuspecting victim into the men's room where Tristan would knock him out and steal his clothes. He told them to act casually and wait.

They did and soon after they settled down a doctor with short black hair and matching glasses jogged down the hallway. The reflection of light from the coins made him stop as he passed by them. He turned and spotted the first circular disc.

"No way! This must be my lucky day," he said to himself, happily. As he bent over to pick it up he spotted the next coin and picked that up too, then another and another.

Soon, the door to the bathroom crept shut and revealed Tristan who then made his move on the doctor.

Not a peep was made from the man who had just come from lunch. Tristan dragged his prey into one of the stalls and changed into his coat and pants. Moments later he reemerged into the hallway.

"Now that you mention it, that guy did look a lot like Herb," "Jeremie" claimed. Tristan had reached them and asked how he looked.

"Yumi" replied sarcastically, "You look like the perfect date."

"So, Tristan, who did you whack off in the bathroom?" Odd asked, implying that maybe Tristan had some sort of mob connection.

The younger gang was still suspicious about their future friend. Ulrich understood and respected the fact that he wanted his younger self to tell them certain things first-hand because he too had many secrets that he wouldn't tell anyone. It's not that he didn't trust his friends because he did it's just that they were…personal.

Yumi thought that something bad had happened to him when he was young. However, despite that she believed that he had a heart of gold for what he did with Aelita and Jeremie. He's nice, rich, honest (a little too honest but that's okay), shy, cute and is probably as smart as Jeremie. If Ulrich didn't make a move for Yumi in their time then Tristan seemed to be a good back-up plan.

Tristan gave his black leather coat to "Yumi" who immediately put it on and hugged herself. His jacket had been sought after by many people, particularly girls, ever since he got it. It was so soft, gentle and warm. The dark cloth made him stand out and seemed to give him an authoritative yet stylish look, two things that really didn't go hand-in-hand.

The man masquerading as a doctor searched himself for identification and found his I.D. badge next to his pocket protector. He read the name out loud, "Herb Pichon." Then everyone burst out in laughter.

When everyone calmed down Tristan gave Ulrich his change back with interest from Herb.

"Now we need a stretcher," he declared. Tristan didn't want anyone to get suspicious about him and a stretcher with a patient yelling in pain would be very convincing.

The gang scanned the hallway and the older Ulrich spotted a door to a storage closet. He tapped around the doorknob then called Tristan over.

"There's two locks, a deadbolt and the knob," "Ulrich" informed Tristan.

"Gotcha," the strong-armed man replied and positioned himself so that his body was like an arrow with his right elbow as the tip against the deadbolt locking mechanism. His first attempt was successful and the door became ajar. He repositioned himself and against the regular lock and heaved into it. The knob buckled and the door opened.

Tristan whispered to his roommate, "As much as I regret what happened I must say it does come in handy." "Ulrich" concurred.

The two entered the room, fetched out a stretcher and set it up in the hallway. Along the way out Tristan grabbed a green hospital blanket.

"So who's going to be the patient?" "Jeremie" asked.

Odd took advantage of the situation and jumped on the bed. "I will!" he exclaimed, not wanting to be ignored again.

The fake doctor and "Ulrich" were satisfied with him action. Tristan told him to act like he was in pain. The purple-haired boy gave a practice moan that to say the least was nothing like anything realistic.

Both Ulrichs signed. The younger one insisted, "Let me try something. Lay down Odd." The troublemaker complied with his roommate's instructions with a sense of confusion and fear.

Odd's cautious attitude was well justified when suddenly Ulrich punched Odd right in the groin. That was something that would truly make him groan in pain. It was also revenge for all the Yumi and Ulrich questions from before.

The girls giggled and blushed madly. Jeremie was laughing his head off with the older Ulrich and Tristan squinted at the pain he was in.

"There," Ulrich said, "Now, he doesn't have to act."

"Thanks," Tristan replied.

Odd continued to moan and groan in a curled-up ball position, the blanket tightly wrapped around him. Tristan wheeled him down the hallway towards "Aelita's" room.

Along the way, the security guard stopped them. He told them that there was a patient already in the room. Odd continued to make painful noises. Tristan insisted that he be granted access to the room because of a condition that Odd had. To make it sound genuine Tristan laced the fake illness with medical terminology, turning it into an incomprehensible condition.

The guard was bewildered at the complexity of the words and let them enter. Tristan shut the door behind him and the three other doctors stared at him.

"Who are you?" One of them demanded. Tristan played dumb and put his arms two of the doctors' necks, telling them that he was the guardian of hell, Diablo. They didn't believe him and told the third doctor to get security.

Tristan threw the doctors' heads together like two dirty erasers. The third one didn't know what hit him when the fighter gave him a judo chop on the back of his neck. Odd's injury made it so that no other sounds escaped the room.

The only standing man went over to "Aelita's" bedside and woke her up.

"Aelita?" he asked, "Can you hear me?"

"Huh?" she responded, tiredly. The doctors must have put sleeping and pain killer agents in her glucose drop. He unplugged her, turned off her heart monitor so it would make any noise and set her up. "Who-who are you?"

"It's me, Tristan," he replied, "And Odd's with me too."

"I-I can barely see you," she said, a little frightened.

"Don't worry, you'll be okay," he reassured her. "We're taking you back to Lyoko. Odd you need to get off the stretcher."

The young teen fell off the bed, holding his crotch together. Tristan told him that he didn't have to act anymore. Odd told him that he wasn't.

He gently set "Aelita" on the wheeled bed and draped the blanket over her weakening body. Tristan whispered to her to just go to sleep and strapped her onto the bed.

She smiled. One thing that "Aelita" enjoyed most like Odd was the ability to sleep. It was so peaceful and calm, especially after a hard day of discovering new things to do. Regardless of the situation, she welcomed the rest and drifted off into a slumber.

Tristan pushed "Aelita" out of the door and Odd followed in his shadow.

"So is he going to make it?" the guard asked.

"Yep, she'll make a one-hundred-percent recovery," Tristan answered happily, wheeling her away.

It took a few seconds for the guard to realize what just happened. As Tristan was about to turn the corner the policeman shouted, "Hey, I thought it was a guy!"

"One little mistake," Tristan muttered to himself.

The guard peered in the room that once housed the female patient. "Get back here!" the man shouted running after them. Tristan told his friends to get going and raced with "Aelita" out the door.

* * *

The couple at the festival enjoyed many more rides and activities for the remainder of the evening. Jeremie managed, after four tries, to win Aelita a large teddy bear by knocking down three stacked milk bottles with one ball. It was harder than he thought especially since he always skipped out on gym. 

Aelita also tried her skill at games of strength. Although she was not used to her body as Jeremie was to his she still managed to impress him by winning a fake large diamond necklace in a dart game. Jeremie put it on her told her that she looked like a real princess. She blushed madly as Jeremie then kissed her hand like a subject.

Later, the two got tired and night set in. Jeremie lead Aelita to the first floor lobby of the Eiffel Tower which had a gourmet restaurant.

A waiter showed Aelita and Jeremie to a table in the middle of the platform. It was covered with a white table cloth and had a center piece, an elegant array of flowers and candles that illuminated the table. It was quite romantic.

Aelita set her teddy bear next to her chair. The two were given menus. Jeremie glanced through it and decided to get the special shrimp dinner with a side of Brussels sprouts.

Jeremie looked over at his friend. Her eyes were moving rapidly across the menu. "Can't decide?" he asked.

"I have no idea what any of these things are," she replied, indecisively. There were so many different foods to choose from. She had no idea what ribs were or what it meant to be deep fried.

The boy moved his chair next to the girl and helped her look over the menu. He told her, "Most of these things are gourmet foods so I don't blame you for not knowing what they are. I think you should try the frog legs. They're a delicacy."

"Okay," she replied, confused. Aelita took the name of the food literally and wondered why it was considered a delicacy to eat somebody's legs.

Soon enough the food arrived and Aelita at first was repulsed by the meal. Then Jeremie showed her how to eat it and she tried it. The frog legs had just enough taste to make Aelita's taste buds go crazy. After all she had hardly eaten anything before.

She finished her meal in record time. Jeremie thought that she ate the meal faster than Odd could. Then he realized that, that was an impossibility and looked down at his one-fourth-eaten shrimp plate. He felt embarrassed at the sight of her completely white plate.

The waiter came by and took her empty dish. Jeremie ordered her another meal. One that wasn't so easy to finish. A thirty-two ounce streak should do the trick with lots of barbeque sauce.

Just as Jeremie thought, it took Aelita a while to finish her second dinner. Once he finished his he looked over at her steak that was three-fourths gone and then looked at her stomach.

"Aelita," he began. "Do you feel okay?"

"Yes," she replied happily, "This steak is wonderful, Jeremie! Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that sometimes you can get sick by eating too much."

"You can?" He nodded. Aelita repeated herself and told Jeremie that she was fine, however, he didn't like the idea of a person having two dinners especially if her body wasn't used to eating.

Jeremie asked her to stop eating the steak. At first she thought that he was being too protective like he was in Lyoko. He always told her to stay in the tower and wait for her friends to arrive. Or course, she never listened to him.

The boy insisted that she trust his judgment. She agreed and set her utensils down.

The waiter came over and gave them desert menus. Jeremie ordered a large chocolate Sunday with a double-shot of chocolate syrup. The cup was so big that he knew it would definitely be enough for the two of them to share even if Aelita's stomach was bottomless.

Ice cream was something that Aelita had never tried before and was a rarity for Jeremie too. Aelita inhaled her part of the cup and instantly fell in love with the taste of chocolate. It was so delightful to her that she didn't even notice her poor manners when the cup was empty she was using her spoon to sip up the remaining syrup. Jeremie took that as a sign that they were finished.

The waiter came back over and asked Jeremie for payment. He obliged and gave the man Tristan's U.I.D. card and let him scan his hand. Jeremie didn't know that Aelita could be such an expensive date. The word princess came to mind as he saw how much it cost, forty-two euros and thirty-nine cents plus the tip. He was thankful that it wasn't his money that he was spending.

Aelita had long since forgotten about the reason why she and Jeremie came to the Eiffel Tower to begin with. As a matter of fact she was so careless that she almost forgot her teddy bear when they went to the elevator to leave. Just then an announcement came over the PA system.

"Attention everybody, there will be a fireworks display beginning momentarily. It will be best viewed at from the observation level. Thank you and have a wonderful evening."

"Jeremie," she asked, "What are fireworks?"

He smiled at her innocents and replied, "Come on, I'll show you." They then went in the elevator and up to the top floor.

* * *

The whole scene was chaotic. First, there was the guard chasing the group of friends and yelling in all direction for help. Then there was Tristan who had to balance his speed with "Aelita's" cart, "Jeremie" was obsessively worried about his princess and to top it all off Odd was staggering behind holding himself together. 

"Aelita are you okay?" "Jeremie" shouted.

Tristan replied, annoyed, "Jeremie, she probably can't even hear you if she didn't answer you the first two time!"

The group had reached the entrance and "Ulrich" held the front end up and helped Tristan carry her down the stair. It was the same stairs where he punched Sissy. He knew this because the trash cans were still knocked over. As they raced down the street, two other guards from the hospital joined the pursuit.

People in Paris were used to a laid back sort-of life. They weren't used to any excitement which may account for as Tristan thought their poor taste in the arts and comedy. However, his opinion was bias since he wasn't a native. Regardless, the citizens of France couldn't have been more stupid.

A middle-aged lady with a purse that looked like it was about to explode threw it by the handle and hit one of the guards dead-center in the face when Tristan shouted at her to move. She was so flustered at the sound of his voice that she didn't even look to where she was swinging nor did she apologize afterwards. Tristan, of course, ducked to avoid getting whacked.

That bought "Aelita" who was either asleep or unconscious by the virus' third stage some time. However, she didn't respond to any of the things that were going around her. This made Tristan concerned and he told "Ulrich" to move faster.

A few blocks down the road the gang finally reached the bridge with three security guards in hot pursuit, one of which was wearing shorts.

"Yumi" said, "They're catching up! We aren't going to make it!"

Tristan glanced behind his shoulder and confirmed "Yumi's" worry. The guards had to be dealt with. He instructed, "Yumi, you and the others go to Lyoko. I'll stay here and deal with the guards."

"Are you sure you can handle them?" the younger Yumi asked.

"Don't worry about Tristan. He can take care of himself," her older self replied.

The gang went on ahead and the man faking to be a doctor halted and prepared himself for combat.

Three panting guards stopped about six feet in front of Tristan. The one wearing shorts seemed to be the leader and told him that he was under arrest for stealing a patient. He also called him bananas for impersonating a doctor whom he had a friendship with.

At that charge, Tristan smiled. He had been called many things in his life time but bananas was something new to add to the list. Three-on-one didn't seem like good odds but then again, this was Tristan. He always turned the direst situations into a fight chance for life.

* * *

**A/N: Well, another chapter done. I didn't think that it would turn out to be this long. Whatever. I'd also like to tell you guys that my favorite technique I use in writing is foreshadowing. That is I leave small hints of things to come in the writing. I not only did that with this chapter but pretty much the whole story as well. Try and guess which parts I foreshadowed. Later.**


	8. Changes

**A/N: Well, I'm back again. It's been a while, I know. Sorry for the delay. Taking a summer drawing class and working extra hours really hurts your writing time. None-the-less I did get an update published. I'm seriously getting excited about the last chapter, you guys. Don't forget about my special surprise I have for you. It's coming soon.**

**JLyoko: Well, more-or-less yeah that's what happened. As I'm telling everybody, I'll explain more on Tristan at the end.**

**Doggiegal: Thanks again for your words of encouragement. Enjoy the story.**

**Siberian-Tigress: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing.**

**thesuperdot: Sorry, you weren't right but the battle does have a very small part in the foreshadowing. I'll explain what will happen with it later.**

**RaptorK Beta: Yep, you're right. They're red. As for the cost keep in mind of the exchange rate. I don't know what it is exactly but I was going by about 1.8 euros per dollar when I wrote that.**

**D Wolf Falls: yes, it does. Like I said, foreshadowing is my favorite technique. I'll tell everyone what I really foreshadowed at the end of the story. You'll find more about Tristan in this chapter too. Enjoy.**

**Kay: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Janika: Me? Jealous of Odd? Nahhh. My character just doesn't like him. It's a personality conflict. As for Aelita dying, I was thinking of that but then I decided not to. I have enough drama for one story. Dan…sure.**

**aZn sIsTeR: I hope you passed your grade. Anyway, the part with Herb and Nick was a little foreshadowed. I'm sure that those two will end up doing something like that.**

**renayumi: I'll take that as a compliment because I'm actually going to collage to become a teacher. Not one of writing or English, though. I'm studying to be a computer science and/or math teacher.**

**yumi & ulrich: I wish I could help you but unless you tell me what you don't understand I'm afraid I can't do anything for you. Sorry. Try reading my author's notes on every page.**

**xx Painful Bliss xx: The exchange rate that I was think of is like 1.8 euros for a dollar but the main point that I wanted to make was that Aelita and Jeremie had an expensive date. Thanks for being my 70th reviewer. Now, I can sleep happily.**

* * *

**This chapter is dedicated to:**

xx Painful Bliss xx

**For being my 70th reviewer and putting me overmy 10 reviews/chapter goal.**

* * *

"Ulrich" raced with his younger self, both Yumis, the older Jeremie, Odd and "Aelita" into the platue above the elevator in the lifeless factory. He unstrapped Jeremie's on-line girlfriend and carried her down the ladder and into the elevator. The others slid down the ropes. When all were joined in the vertical transport "Jeremie" pushed the button for the next floor and took "Aelita". 

"Jeremie," while holding his best friend, couldn't concentrate on the task at hand. The elevator door opened to the main console and he just stood there stunned. It was so dark and unwelcoming as he eyed the walls of the room. Combine that emptiness with a dying friend in hand and you have one emotional person. He couldn't take the pressure.

"Yumi," he said in a saddened almost crying voice, "Do we really have to do this?"

She answered, "Yes, we do. I'm sorry Jeremie but we have to turn X.A.N.A. back on." There was another pause of unwillingness from Jeremie as he didn't want to proceed with the plan. "Yumi" turned towards the younger Ulrich and Yumi and said, "Ulrich, Yumi, help Jeremie to the console."

"Sure," Ulrich replied in his normal calmed voice, "Come on, Jere, everything will be okay." Yumi followed.

The four exited the shaft and the elevator went down to the last floor. There, the older Ulrich ran to the center of X.A.N.A.'s mainframe and turned the electrical switch back on. His eye that covered the pull lever lit up, indicating that the power was on. He hurried back to the elevator and the three went up to the scanner room.

"Yumi" told "Ulrich" and Odd to come to Lyoko with her. She suggested that the younger Ulrich not come because between the two selves they shared the same life points and the younger Ulrich wasn't familiar with the changes to the virtual world over the past five years.

"Yumi" and "Ulrich" were virtualized and to his amazement Odd was too. It had been years since he had seen his dead friends' outfit in Lyoko. He had no idea that "Jeremie" kept his profile after all these years. A flood of memories came over him and he felt like he had in the hospital again.

"What is this place?" Odd exclaimed viewing the landscape. He had seen nothing like it before.

"It's the fifth region of Lyoko," "Yumi" replied, "Not to mention it's also the grossest thing on the planet."

The fifth region was a swamp sector. It had an additional ten towers and joined the other four regions together in a cross-section. This was indeed the heart of the fake world.

The landscape was also quite different from the others. Not only was it different in color which was a black and gray monotone palate and appearance consisting of marshes and decaying trees it was also by far the most deadly looking. Jagged rocks could be seen in the background stretching out into the void. Trees whose roots were ground in poisoned soil extended their branches towards the gang in an attempt to grab them and hold them down. The swamps on both sides of the group seemed to be full of trouble since many of the dead trees that gave the land its character had been swallowed by mucky waters.

"Ulrich" saw the vine trellis crawl along the floor and chopped it off. He pushed his emotions aside and focused on the mission. The plant withered and devirtualized.

"Ulrich, your digital saber is fully charged," "Jeremie" announced. The swordsman activated his weapon and it transformed from shiny silver into a glaring green laser blade, the technical term being digital saber.

After looking in a 360-degree circle Odd responded to "Yumi's" comment, "What's a matter Yumi? Don't like getting dirty?" He then picked up and threw a handful of black goo at her and hit her upper back. The troublesome teen laughed and "Ulrich" smiled. However, "Yumi" was furious and tackled Odd in the muddy walkway.

She whitewashed his face in the dirt and replied angrily, "No, Odd I don't!" She went over to "Ulrich" who was also sharing his friends' comic relief and scorned, "What's so funny, Ulrich?"

"Nothing," he responded instinctively. "I was just reminded of the time you and Aelita mud wrestled in here."

"If you want to live you'll keep your mouth shut," the girl warned.

She walked off from the two guys and headed for the tower. Odd joined "Ulrich" and walked beside him. He inquired about this mud wrestling incident and his older roommate told him that when they first discovered the new territory "Aelita" and "Yumi" had a mud fight that turned into a mud wrestle and eventually "Yumi's" outfit came loose with all the water and mud slinging and fell off. Her bottom and top were exposed for all to see but fortunately for her, she was wearing underwear…red underwear.

"Jeremie's" voice came over the line air waves, "Hey guys, I hate to interrupt your tea party but we have a tower to deactivate and I'm seeing two serpents, one on each side."

"We understand," "Ulrich" confirmed and caught up to "Yumi" with Odd in tow.

A thin dark fin submerged in the left side of the pathway. It cut the water for about five feet and then went back under. No one saw the fin but they caught site of the ripples in the lake. The swordsman drew his sword and prepared for a fight. "Yumi" unwove her fan tried to track the beast.

The monster again showed off its fin in the same manner. "Ulrich" saw it and pointed to it. Odd stared in awe of the new creature. It came closer and closer until it was within ten feet of the group. Then it came out of the water and gave a loud roar.

The thing they were fighting looked like an overgrown snake with two fins on its back, the larger one was in the middle of its body and the smaller one acted as a rudder on the end of its tail. Its head was big and fearsome with large fangs and behind those fangs was a laser cannon. The signature of X.A.N.A. was displayed brightly on the top of the robot's head.

"Ulrich" diverted the first three shots before it went under again. It reemerged closer to "Yumi" who was on "Ulrich's" right and she threw her fan. The throw hit the beast and killed it after it launched two more volleys at Odd and "Ulrich", hitting Odd once.

"Yumi" caught her fan and told Odd to be careful. The monsters in this area are more deadly than those in any other area. Odd agreed and looked behind him in the other lake for the second beast with his arm extended.

The second serpents' tail slithered underneath the pathway and wrapped itself around "Ulrich's" leg. Because one cannot feel in Lyoko the eighteen-year-old had no idea what was happening until he was dragged into the water. His sword got wet and deactivated making it of little use against the monster.

"Ulrich!" Yumi cried and ran along the shore searching for him in the mucky water.

"Yumi, you have to save him!" Jeremie shouted just after she dove in the polluted delta, "There are holes in the bottom of the swamp that lead to the void and if Ulrich is dragged down one of those then he'll be virtualized forever!"

The man fought with the beast and forced him to the surface. They went up in a rage and the snake monster roared and sank his teeth into his shoulder. "Yumi" tried to cut the eye of X.A.N.A. with her fan but the beast was moving too randomly. She held onto "Ulrich" and helped him stay afloat.

"Shoot him!" she demanded Odd do.

Odd came over to them and aimed his hand then fired. It hit the monster's eye dead-on but only stunned him. He had to fire two more times before he was dead. "Yumi" pulled her love to shore and laid him on the ground. She asked about his condition and Jeremie told her that the bite took twenty life points out of him and the poison will do another forty over the next minute.

"I thought you hated mud," Odd reminded.

"I do…but love makes you do crazy things," she replied wiping the excess mildew off her face and "Ulrich's" body.

Due to the poison he could barely walk so "Yumi" helped him travel down the dirt road.

A minute passed by as the trio ran towards the burning tower. "Ulrich's" poison wore off and was at a total of forty life points. "Yumi" was at one-hundred and Odd was at eighty.

A split screen on "Jeremie's" computer desktop appeared and showed a live video of a reporter outside the factory. The genius said to the three in Lyoko, "Hey guys, guess who made the eight-o'clock news."

* * *

A young intern reporting for the eight-o'clock news was filming live from outside the factory. She had red shoulder-length hair and was wearing a light blue jacket with a pink undershirt. The sleeves were half-way rolled up on her arms. 

Her camerawoman, a black lady with braided hair, gave her the go ahead signal and the reporter began to convey the current events.

"This is Milly solovieffand TamiyaDiop reporting live from outside an abandoned factory in downtown Paris where apparently a young man who knocked a doctor unconscious and stole his patient from the local hospital in town just minute ago and is fighting the three security guards from that hospital."

Her camera lady panned away from Millie and captured the fight scene. Two guards were already knocked unconscious and their bodies lay in the street. The third who wore red shorts was about to engage the perpetrator who had a several bruises on his body. Both were getting tired.

Tristan stood confidently some feet away from his next victim. He glanced at the camera and smirked.

"This is a new record for them," he stated, "Usually it takes at least a half-hour for them to get here."

The cop in the red shorts charged at Tristan, recklessly. He had no sense of position and with all honestly looked like a Neanderthal. His brute force was the only thing that kept Tristan from going after him first. Always go after the weakest first.

Now that the odds were even, one-on-one, the man grabbed the cops' arm and pulled him past himself and kneed him in the stomach as hard as he could. The policeman recoiled and conformed to his leg. Tristan took advantage of his position and dropped his right elbow on the base of his head, rendering him unconscious.

Tamiya filmed every second of the bout. She was amazed that she actually knew the person who was fighting. During grade school he was the nicest and kindest person in the world. She and Millie had no idea that he would stoop to this level.

Millie walked over to the victor and asked him, "Daniel, can we ask you a few questions? We'd like to know why you did this."

To that Tristan responded, "First off, the name is Tristan and second, I have a friend who is in grave danger and must leave. Good bye." The man ran off into the factory and the two reports followed but were too late. Tristan had already taken the elevator to meet with Jeremie.

Jeremie informed his friend of the situation and he climbed down to the second level avoiding the camera crew. Even though, the camera crew could use the elevator they couldn't gain access to the lab or the lower levels because they didn't know the password.

The three scanners were full so he waited patiently for one to open.

* * *

Two hornets and a mega fly swooped in and attacked the three virtualized friends. Each dove to a side and evaded their shots. 

Odd was told that a mega fly was twice as large and strong as a hornet and can fire an ice beam in addition to normal laser blasts.

"I have to ask," Odd asked, "Why didn't you guys name it a super fly?"

"Haha very funny Odd," "Jeremie" replied, sarcastically. They ignored his question.

The swarm split up. Two hornets went on the left and right of the group and the mega fly went into hiding.

The two hornets appeared over the horizon and fired viciously at the three. "Yumi" whipped her fan out and killed the one from the left. "Ulrich" managed to deflect all of the other shots from the one on the right but the mega fly's actions went unnoticed. The older Ulrich was frozen and devirtualized.

Odd and "Yumi" turned to the giant creature that was arming itself again. As it was charging Odd launched a storm of arrows at it and the bug blew up. "Yumi" then took care of the last bug with a flick of her wrist.

Tristan helped his roommate out of the scanner and set him down next to it. He entered and the computer controller brought him to Lyoko.

Tristan greeted "Yumi" and Odd with a hello and viewed his surroundings. The man's outfit was a sleeve-less black leather vest, a white shirt and blue pants. His arms caught Odd's attention as they were both metal. Tristan wore no bandana and had no scar on his forehead.

"So what's your weapon?" the curious boy asked. Tristan responded without words and extended three claws from his right fist coming to an inch away from Odd's face. He was amazed yet frightened at the sight.

"Come on, let's go," "Yumi" criticized. The two boys went with her.

Jeremie announced, "Oh hey Tristan just to remind you, your soul cube is at two."

"Kay thanks," he replied.

"Soul cube?" Odd asked.

"You'll see," Tristan responded.

Not too long after he entered the virtual reality, Tristan heard the distant sound of flapping wings. These weren't the wings of hornets or mega flies or any other flying monster but rather were ones of a ground creature.

The sounds got louder and the other two noticed the noises. "Jeremie" confirmed their hearing by informing them that five hoppers were coming from the north, the direction of the tower.

"Let me handle this," Tristan insisted. "Yumi" nodded and he ran ahead of the two into a clearing.

"What's a hopper, Yumi?" Odd inquired. She told him to be quite and that she'll explain it later. Tristan needed to concentrate.

The man in the clearing exposed all six of his claws and shielded his torso with his arms in a defensive position. He bent his knees and turned slowly from side to side trying to notice any discrepancies. Many things didn't make sense to him as he peered over the landscape. He knew that he was surrounded.

In anticipation of what would have followed, Tristan preempted the bombardment of lasers from the hoppers by slicing and dicing the area he was standing in. To Odd, it looked like he had gone insane. He was violently slashing in all directions, supposedly fighting a foe that only he could see.

As Odd was about to speak and tell him to stop messing around an explosion occurred near Tristan and laser blasts came out of nowhere from his position. Tristan was hit twice but he did several back-flipped to avoid getting devirtualized.

He pointed his left arm at a tree and a claw flew through the air and a bug looking much like a large grasshopper was pinned to it. "Yumi" told Odd that they can cloak and sneak up on people very easily.

Tristan, being experienced in many armed and unarmed combats, made quick work of the last three. He asked Odd to retrieve his claws that he fired because he was more flexible and agile than himself.

"I got some bad news guys," "Jeremie" regrettably informed the trio, "It looks like there are two spyders in front of the tower."

"Here you go, Tristan," Odd said with two claws in hand.

"Thanks. Devirtualized me, Jeremie," he instructed. The computer genius did and he left the scene.

"Hey!" the nimble Odd remarked.

* * *

The younger Ulrich and Yumi looked at the new sector of Lyoko. They were surprised that X.A.N.A. could accomplish such a task as making a new area. "Jeremie" told them that it wasn't as bad as it looked. 

"Aelita" twitched and fell on the floor. The two kids went over to her and checked her pulse and heartbeat. It was slowing and they became even more worried. They told "Jeremie" and he relayed the info to the others.

* * *

The younger Jeremie and Aelita were on the balcony of the Eiffel Tower observing the explosions in the sky. Aelita had no idea that such things as fireworks could make such beautiful images. 

The girl moved closer to the edge until she was against the railing. She leaned on it and Jeremie told her to be careful. He trusted her but since she was so unfamiliar with the world he didn't want to take any risks. Her date put his arm around her waist for balance and comfort.

Aelita didn't even notice his arm and made no attempt to remove it. As a matter of fact, she didn't even hear Jeremie's warning because the cracks and bursts of the works were louder than his voice. She leaned over the edge of the railing and viewed the surface that they had come from.

Jeremie didn't make too much of a deal of this until he saw her necklace that she won from the dart game fall off her neck. She shrieked at the loss and he pulled her away from the edge.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied and inched back over to the spot were it fell off. Aelita looked down just in time to see her jewelry shatter into a thousand pieces. She gasped and stood back from the edge.

The image of her fake diamonds breaking played endlessly in her mind. This was her first experience with a personal loss and it left her with a very bitter aftertaste. It reminded her of Odd's death.

Her eyes started to excrete water. Crying was so painful for her since she had never done it before. It just came out and wouldn't stop. One tear followed another. Jeremie embraced her and held her close to himself. There was another couple but they were on the other side and paid no attention.

"Aelita, it's okay," Jeremie comforted her, "it's just a necklace. We can get a new one."

"Jeremie it's not that," she said glumly, "It…it reminded me of what's going to happen to Odd." Another wave of tears escaped her eyes and she buried her face in Jeremie's chest. He rubbed her back and she eventually put her arms around him. "He's going to die and it's all because of me…" she added.

"What do you mean it's because of you?" he asked.

"If I hadn't have been so curious to come to Earth then he wouldn't have to die. It's all my fault!"

"Aelita…" he said in an understanding voice. She looked up at him but couldn't look him in the eye. "You didn't do anything wrong." Aelita just leaned on him and rested on his shoulder, hoping that he was right.

* * *

Odd, "Yumi" and Tristan hid behind three decaying trees in the swamp region of Lyoko. The tower was now in plain sight but there were two problems, two spyders. It's another creature that the younger gang had never scene before. These spyders looked similar to spiders in real life except for the fact that these only had four legs instead of eight and were about the size of two Jims, in other words, really tall. The symbol of X.A.N.A. was, again, on top of its head. 

"Well, they aren't moving," "Yumi" said, stating the obvious.

"Any guesses as to why?" Tristan added.

"Nope," she replied, observing the two droids timidly.

"Mine field," "Jeremie" announced over the communication-link. "It's the perfect defense for them."

"At least we have long-range weapons," the metal-armed man remarked.

When Tristan was devirtualized, he came back to Lyoko with a different kind of metal arm. Odd couldn't put his finger on what was so different about it but it seemed like some sort of addition was put on.

"Well, since Yumi is still at one-hundred life points," Tristan said, "I'll go on ahead and fire some rounds off to disable them. Yumi, Odd, between the two of you, you need to kill one of those beasts." They nodded at the plan.

Odd didn't have an understanding of how Tristan would go about doing such a task but over the past day that he shared with him, he realized that he was someone who always knew what they were doing and shouldn't be doubted.

The man crawled on the dirty floor of the swamp being careful not to alert the two mechanical monsters. Mine fields were something that X.A.N.A. hadn't used in a long time and he was surprised that he was bringing up such an unusual tactic. However, that didn't bother him, though. As a matter of fact his only real concern was when the field started and ended. Unfortunately, even "Jeremie" couldn't tell him the answer to that.

Tristan crouched behind a half-disintegrated bush and transformed his arm into the e-pulse, a weapon that shoots electronic magnetic pulses. It temporarily paralyzes an enemy.

He ran out into the mine field, praying that he would step on one and fired continuously at the two spyders. At first sight, the two went into their firing positions, a stance in which they prop themselves up on their two hind legs and use the front two and a rapid-firing laser machine-gun. Spyders were fast to move but once they get positioned they have a hard time maneuvering.

Some of Tristan's rounds hit the beasts and they were shocked for a split second. "Yumi" threw her fan but couldn't the top. Odd was of no use either because his laser arrows couldn't dip down onto the head. The monsters lost sight of the man in metal arms and directed their attention to the other two friends.

"Odd, stay here!" "Yumi" shouted.

"Where do you think you're going?" he replied, "If you can't see, I can't go anywhere so where are you going!" However, it was too late the Japanese girl had already disappeared from his sight.

The tree that was protecting Odd was getting a serious beating. Bark and debris was all over the place as the two creatures pounded his surroundings. Then, out of nowhere, Tristan reappeared in the field and distracted the angry robots. He fired his weapons at them until he was out of ammunition and then ran behind another bush.

The spyder on the right-hand side exploded and next to it was a translucent outline of "Yumi" with two daggers. Odd stared in awe at her as then began attacking the other beast. However, it saw her and swatted her to the ground like a fly with one of its long cylindrical arms.

"Yumi" hit the ground and a mine exploded, sending her through the air. She would have fallen into the void if she hadn't lost all of her life points first.

"Yumi!" Odd shouted and stepped out from his hiding spot. He fired the last of his arrows at the spyder with no impact.

"Odd no!" Tristan shouted as he saw his new friend devirtualize. It was now up to him to save "Aelita's" life.

The beast repositioned himself. Tristan took this time to take out his soul cube from his left arm. It was his special ability. He had originally got the idea from a video game.

The man pushed a button on the silver cube and selected a target with it.

"Alright, you," he began to say with a western like ascent, "This place ain't big enough for the both of us. I'll throw this here cube in the air and when it hits the ground, draw. Got it?"

Through its limited understandings of the human language and communications the spyder gave a roar in agreement with his proposal and Tristan tossed the cube in the air. It sparkled in the atmosphere even though there was no sun in Lyoko. As it neared the ground about three feet from impact the three-dimensional square made a ninety-degree angle in its downward descent straight into the spyder's X.A.N.A. symbol.

The monster yelled and twitched and the cube sucked out all of the thing's remaining power and transferred it back into Tristan's body. Finally, it devirtualized and a clear path to the tower could be seen.

"Way to go Tristan," "Jeremie" said, "Now just watch out for the mines. I'm sending you the hover board."

"Gotcha," he replied and the purple board was imported next to him. He stepped on it and moved very cautiously over the death field.

The board caught part of a mine and it exploded sending Tristan deeper into the field. Luckily, he didn't hit any more mines. Carefully, he got up and leaped right into front of the tower.

"Okay, Jeremie, I'm here," he announced. "Jeremie" let go of his breath that he was holding in and virtualized "Aelita".

The metal-armed man caught the limp girl in his arms and walked into the tower with her. She was showing no signs of life wondered if it was too late.

They went to the top level where Tristan used her hand to gain access to the tower and inputted her code for tower deactivation.

* * *

Aelita was watching the fireworks display in Jeremie's caring arms. It was almost night and she was getting tired so to lean on him for support seemed natural for her. 

"Aelita, don't worry about it," Jeremie said softly.

"I'm afraid, Jeremie," she replied.

"I know but we'll make sure that it won't happen."

To ease her emotional trauma Jeremie was a lot more affectionate than he normally would have been with her that night. He wasn't being himself completely but it was enough that it made Aelita happy and forget about certain things.

She turned around to face him and said, "Jeremie?"

"Yes?" he replied blushing at their closeness. At this time the white light from the return to the past program was called online and began to assimilate the world. She inched closer and closer until she was close enough that the _she _noticed the space between them and stopped abruptly.

The young girl had no idea what her body was doing. She had never before experienced such a deep emotion as just now. Her heart rate increased and her throat became dry for some unknown reason. She tried to speak but nothing came out of her mouth.

Jeremie understood what she was trying to do and was amazed that a girl, any girl, would want to do that with him. He responded to her fear, "Aelita, I think I know what you're trying to do."

She just stared at him as the light surrounded them. Then, in an instant she felt something gentle touch her lips. The naïve girl had no idea what just happened and it was only for a split second but it made her forget about all of the day's horrid events.

* * *

The older gang was in the scanner room and "Jeremie" was at his desktop. They wondered around a bit and checked the date on their watches. It was a day-and-a-half ago from when they deactivated the tower. 

Tristan checked his wallet and his UID card was there.

"Jeremie, is Aelita okay?" asked "Yumi".

"Yeah, she is," he replied and the three erupted it shouts of joy. "She's alive and well."

The older gang finished their victory celebration and went their separate ways. "Yumi" and "Ulrich" were going to prepare for the fashion show in a few hours which meant that "Ulrich" had to buy some more Sissy repellant, the code word for something that will keep her away from him.

Tristan would go to a store and buy some disposable cameras. He wanted this event to be shared with their younger selves and for his roommate. Even though, him and Odd didn't really get along he still cherished and respected his roommate's friendship with his dead friend. Unfortunately, Tristan also knew the bitter taste of death and sympathized with him.

"Jeremie" would get back to work on the firewall program. Although his hope was shattered again he still would not give up on his angel.

On the way out the elevator "Yumi" asked, "Hey, Tristan, what did that note you wrote say?"

The man wasn't surprised that she'd ask this question so he had already thought of a response before-hand. He replied, "It pretty much said that I should trust you guys and that I shouldn't rush to judgment. I also put a few personal remarks in the letter too."

* * *

**A/N: Well, another chapter done. I have about 1 or 2 more to go you guys so the end is near, sort of! Also, thanks for reviewing and getting this story up to the 10 reviews/chapter. I appreciate it. See you later.**


	9. Fate

**A/N: You know what's really weird? FF didn't send out Author Alerts for this chapter so now I have to repost it. Oh joy. Well, a special thanks goes out to the two people that did reveiw it anyway(they're the first 2 for chapter 9).**

**Well, this is certainly the end for this story. I really like writing it and I hoped that you enjoyed reading it too. That's right this is the last chapter but did you remember my little announcement some chapters ago? Well, it's after the chapter and should shed some light on Tristan's character a well as a few other things. Enjoy.**

**D Wolf Falls****: Thanks for the comments. I tried to make the 5th region as realistic as possible but it's very hard when you only have bits and pieces of information of season 2. Enjoy the ending!**

**Doggiegal****: All good things must come to an end. Well, there are exceptions too, don't forget that.**

**xx Painful Bliss xx****: Routine was an episode that was a little strange. Yumi and Ulrich actually did kiss in that episode even though they didn't show it. Yeah, the same thing kind of happened here too but hey, I like it. **

**RaptorK Beta****: Yes, Tristan does have a weakness but remember this is five years in the future so everything is a lot more powerful. Tristan tends to micro-manage strategies and plans. He thinks a lot so when an enemy is attacking he likes to run and hide then get some sort of advantage on him and strikes. You couldn't see it in the last chapter but that and his weight from his metal arms tends to tie him down.**

**Kay: I try to do that but since my manager is on vacation I had to work a lot of hours these past two weeks. None-the-less, though, here's the final installment. Enjoy.**

**Janika: Dan is a little different in this story than A Fractured Life. Don't forget that his story is sort of a parallel-dimension type thing. Things turned out differently in here. Enjoy the ending.**

**aZn sIsTeR 92****: I hope you have a great summer too. Writing is fun that's for sure. This ending is a little strange but I think you'll like it.**

**thesuperdot: Yeah, it's kind of hard to proofread a 5,000 plus word document but I think I got everything I needed to get written in. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Jlyoko: Thanks for sticking with the story. Yeah, this is the last one but don't worry. I have a surprise for you at the end. Enjoy.**

**Anonymous: I'll think about your suggestion. Thanks for reviewing.**

* * *

The older gang went their separate ways. Tristan's scar was removed by the trip to the past and no longer wore a bandana. They rejoined at the factory three hours before the clothing show and discussed the situation. 

Hours pasted and the older gang waited anxiously to see their younger selves. "Ulrich" kept in touch with his roommate and continued to give updates to "Yumi" in the backstage area. Though the younger gang hasn't arrived yet she was very excited about it.

It seemed like days to "Yumi" but soon enough their younger selves arrived. Since Lyoko was online, they were transported from their Lyoko to the Lyoko of five years later in the forest region. The younger Jeremie sat in the computer chair that the older Jeremie had forsaken for the past hour.

"Aelita" delivered the good news to "Jeremie" who relayed it to Tristan who told "Ulrich" on the phone who then delivered it to "Yumi" when she came backstage to change. The exchange would seem quite strange to any other group of people.

The older Lyoko inhabitant met up with the younger gang and greeted them. They were partially confused and dumbfounded when they realized where they were. It turns out that they were sent back to just before they came here.

The younger Aelita called out to Jeremie to make sure that he was okay and he responded affirmatively. His voice made her smile as she recalled her last memory with him.

The older Jeremie told the younger gang that he'd devirtualize them and did so with the exception of Odd who wanted to play around with that hover board that Tristan had before he went into the mine field. "Jeremie" let the hyper kid have the board and went down to the lower level to see the rest of the gang.

Once again, the younger selves were in the company of Tristan and "Jeremie".

"Since you already know what the situation is, let's just get down to business," Tristan proposed. With no one objecting, the man gave Jeremie Aelita's anti-virus, the program to go back in time almost five years and the incomplete firewall program. He then handed his recently appended note to Ulrich whom he personally trusted would not read it.

"It's going to be about an hour before Yumi's show gets over," the older Jeremie explained, "so to pass the time Tristan bought some disposable cameras for us to take pictures."

The older Aelita who was still in Lyoko watched Odd as he glided from side to side of the forest area on the virtual board. She laughed every time he shouted for joy. It reminded her so much of the Odd that she once knew and loved as a friend. His carelessness and disregard for his own safety kept her from calming down.

Eventually the others heard the laughter and became curious. They stopped taking pictures went up to the computer room to see what the fuss was all about. Odd was definitely having the time of his life.

However, the younger gang thought that it was time for him to come back to the real world. Against his will, "Jeremie" devirtualized Odd and the older Aelita. The two then made their way up to the room with everybody else.

"Einstein!" Odd shouted excitedly, "You have to make that when we get back! The hover board is sooooooo cool!"

Jeremie didn't know how to respond to that so he just replied, "Uh, okay." Then he looked up towards his older self and asked for the code. "Jeremie" told him that the code wouldn't be hard to make but the concepts that would be learned in the process needed to be learned by his younger self.

More time pasted and the older Yumi and Ulrich came by without any Sissy incidences. That was a huge relief for the both Ulrichs. Both groups of friends just relaxed, took pictures and had a good time.

"Aelita" managed to talk to her younger self and Jeremie. She reassured the young girl that everything will be okay and that living has its ups and downs. Aelita was still a little nerve-wracked from this whole ordeal but she understood what her older self was telling her.

Later, the two disposable cameras that Tristan bought were filled up with memories and he took them to the photo shop to develop them.

Some time later, the pictures were done and he glanced through the two packs to make sure that every one had turned out right. The man saw a picture that he wanted only the younger group to see and no the older. He took it out and threw it away in a near-by garbage can then went back to the factory.

The two gangs said their goodbyes and Tristan handed a copy of the prints to Ulrich. He was the last to enter the scanner and go back to his own time.

* * *

The younger gang found themselves where they were before Aelita deactivated the tower. Jeremie was sitting in his computer chair and checked on his friends. Everything seemed to be normal and he pulled out the three DVDs he had been given and held them in his palm. 

The discs seemed to be like miracles. Five years-worth of work done in a day. He could hardly believe that he was actually holding the key to Aelita's anti-virus yet couldn't use it. The boy felt happy yet sad at the same time.

Jeremie's friends began to thumb through the pictures. They gave no regard for him because they all knew that he could see anything in Lyoko easily. Pictures of the older group were the first to be seen. The older Ulrich and Yumi were kissing in one picture which the younger Ulrich took immediately and hid it after seeing it. Another one was of a tombstone with Odd's name on it. The mischievous teen thought it was cool. There was one photo that made Jeremie laugh and that was of Aelita with a blank stare on her face, probably from learning how to use a camera. The remaining prints were of the younger gang and older gang together.

After the rolls had bee viewed, the avatars responded that they wanted to come out and went in the tower. As they left a very disturbed individual was having second thoughts about her three-day weekend.

"Aelita?" Jeremie called.

The sound of her name startled her as she was deep in thought. She gasped at the surprise and said hotly, "Yes!"

"Do you want to join us?"

"Um…no. I'm sorry Jeremie but I don't want to come to Earth right now." Her words shocked him and herself too. Aelita had desired for ages to walk among the planet that her friends called home yet something told her that she needed time to think to herself.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she replied, "I need some time to think about what just happened."

"Okay," Jeremie responded. The conversation went unnoticed by the others. He then fixed the return to the past program.

His friends arrived and he then remembered how they came here. The bed sheets were still hanging from his window! If he didn't pull them back in soon then Jimbo will notice and only God knows what will happen after that.

The computer genius dashed to his dorm room with Odd who had originally thought up the plan. If Jeremie was to get in trouble then he wanted Odd to as well.

As they reached the dormitories Jeremie's worst nightmares came true. There was Jimbo looking up at the white sheets on the campus lawn. Next to him was no other that the drama queen herself, Sissy.

* * *

Ulrich decided to walk Yumi home that evening. She could have stayed longer with him and her friends but she didn't want to. The two walked together in silence until about half-way to her house. 

Ulrich was the first to speak. "Yumi, what do you think of what just happened?" He was trying to get onto the subject their relationship.

"To be honest, I don't know, Ulrich," she replied truthfully, "There were so many things that went on I don't know where to begin thinking.

"In five years a lot can happen," she continued, "We could be together, someone could die, we could make new friends…" Yumi summarized the events that took place with no direction in her speech until she concluded, "…I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should make the most of every situation."

She stopped and turned towards Ulrich. "Thanks for walking me home, Ulrich," she said.

"It wasn't a problem," Ulrich replied, scratching the back of his head. He didn't want to leave until he had a certain conversation with her.

The intuitive girl picked up on his unwillingness to go back to school and asked, "Ulrich is there something on your mind?" He had always been a quite boy so if he didn't answer her then she wouldn't think of it being odd or out of place.

"Uh, yeah there is," he answered quietly. The personal nature of the topic made him stammer as he continued, "Um…y-you know our older selves? The ones we just saw?"

"Yeah, what about them?" she asked.

"Well, they were…uh…um…together and I was wondering if, uh, you'd like to…uh, try it, you know."

Yumi had always wondered when this moment would happen. In her heart she would gladly say yes but that word was just so hard for her to say right now especially since both of them were blushing.

"Um, sure. I guess we could try it," she replied, cautiously then gave a semi-laugh that turned into a smile. Ulrich did the same.

"Okay, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he concluded.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," she replied. Upon entering her house she said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

"Jeremie! What is the meaning of this?" Jimbo demanded. 

"Uhhhhhh," was all that he could reply until the P.E. teacher interrupted him.

"And where are your friends, Ulrich and Yumi? They were with you just minutes ago. You're plotting again aren't you! I knew it," he accused and then gave his overdone statement about how he'd tell the principal and get them in trouble.

Odd came to his rescue and replied, "Actually, we weren't plotting Jimbo." The man glared at him like he was being interrogated. He continued, "You see, we were trying to get out of Jeremie's room but a certain someone wouldn't let us pass. I.e. Sissy! So we had to go out the back way."

The girl was disgusted at the accusation. Even though it was true the black-haired teen denied it and said that all she did was tell Jim about the sheets. The teacher backed up her story but was still suspicious about both parties.

He told Jeremie and Odd to stay in their rooms for the rest of the night and to pull the sheets back inside. Jimbo then scolded Sissy for being a tattle-tail. Everyone then went their separate ways.

The two trouble makers cleaned up Jeremie's room. It took less than five minutes.

"So are you going to bring Aelita to Earth for the weekend?" Odd asked.

"No, she's doesn't want to come right now," Jeremie reported a little saddened.

"Why not?"

"She said that she had some things to think over about what happened."

Odd understood what Aelita meant. "Then how did your date with her go?"

"Date? Odd it wasn't a date. It was supposed to distract her from the older Aelita's condition," he replied.

"Right, sure…" the boy responded sarcastically.

"It was!" Jeremie defended hotly.

"I bet she thinks it was…" Odd said then was chased out the door by Jeremie.

The computer genius was confused by Odd's observation. In truth, it had been because of the older Aelita's condition. If it were a date then he would have asked her. However, what Jeremie didn't understand was that it started out as a distraction but it turned into a date. To clear up this misunderstanding he made a connection to Lyoko.

Aelita was in a tower, the tower that materializes her. She was thinking of the night they spent together and what happened. Jeremie's hale for her was answered with her normal promptness.

The boy began to converse with the girl a world away. They exchanged notes about what they thought of the recent paradox

Aelita asked, "Jeremie, do you think we were…dating?" She was referring to their older selves and not that evening.

"I don't know. We really didn't see much of them," he replied.

Aelita signed. She wondered what the feeling she experienced before they went back into time was. It was like her whole body just stopped working and concentrated on that particular moment. The emotion she thought could have been love but she couldn't understand why it was so strong. She wanted to experience it again.

"Aelita, why don't you want to come back to Earth for the weekend?"

"I'm afraid. Afraid of what might happen," she answered.

The boy talked with her again and eventually he convinced her to come to Earth. After that, he called Yumi.

* * *

Ulrich had finally reached his dorm room after a slightly-more-lengthy walk from Yumi's house. He wore a big smile on his face the whole way until he came to his door. 

As he turned the knob, reality set back in and he remembered that he had to do something with Sissy so that way Odd wouldn't die in the bus accident. Ulrich was not going to go out on another date with that witch so he thought of another clever way to fix the problem.

He went in and unsurprisingly Odd was there messing around with Kiwi. Ulrich told him that they needed to talk to Sissy. Odd understood why and went with his friend for support. The troublesome kid was completely in the dark about his involvement in Ulrich's scheme.

The boys reached her lair and Ulrich knocked on the door. It seemed to Odd though that he pounded rather than knocked.

"Yes?" Sissy answered, trying to sound as friendly as possible even though she was furious. Upon seeing her crush she rephrased her welcome with joy and excitement.

"Sissy," Ulrich interrupted, "Odd has something to tell you." His friend looked at him with a complex face.

"Huh?" he said.

"Tell her that you're sorry for making fun of her tonight," Ulrich instructed him.

"Okay…uh…Sissy I'm…" it took him the longest time to say the next word, "uh…sorry. I didn't mean to be so mean to you today."

The girl was shocked at his action. Never before had anyone apologized like that before to her. She replied, "Oh, well, thanks Odd. I didn't know you felt so guilty. Hey Ulrich, you know what would make this even better?"

Before she could finish her sentence he stopped her. "Don't even think about it. It won't happen."

"Hmph! Fine, then. I might not accept your friends' apology then," she said

"What? Hey! Don't drag me into this!" he protested.

Sissy retreated back into her room and pretended to cry. In a saddened voice that was obviously fake she said, "You made me feel so worthless today."

Both boys were shocked as it looked like that Ulrich would not be able to get out of this one.

"Fine..." he replied reluctantly, "I'll take you to dinner but nothing expensive, okay!" For once he was glad that Yumi didn't stay late.

Sissy couldn't have been more thrilled. For once Ulrich was actually willing to do something with her.

* * *

Jeremie and Yumi met in the computer lab of the abandoned factory. She got the go ahead from her parents after explaining that her "plane" just arrived in town and that she would be staying for the weekend. 

The computer genus started the materialization program and seconds later a pink-haired girl lay in one of the scanners. Just as the program finished running, Odd arrived. They all went down to the next floor to greet her.

Upon seeing three of her four friends, the curious girl asked about the location of Ulrich. Odd covered for him saying that he was saving his life. However, that sparked Yumi's mind and she further inquired about his where-about. The boy then told her that he was at Chow Now, a not very fancy burger restaurant about a block away from campus.

Aside from Yumi's anger and frustration about Ulrich's absence Aelita smiled and readjusted to gravity. She would have a wonderful time with Yumi and her friends this weekend.

* * *

Almost a week had pasted and the gang went back to their normal routines again. Jeremie and Aelita began to analyze the DVDs they were given in every spare second they had. Odd was his usual self, clowning around and making Sissy mad although he had been very careful the past few days. 

Ulrich put the note from Tristan's older self in a safe place, next to his diary. He never gave much thought as to what was written on it but none-the-less he promised to give it to the younger Tristan when the time was right.

Yumi's anger cooled down with the passing days too. Although she hadn't talked to Ulrich much their relationship seemed to be where it was before the ordeal last Friday.

The four friends were standing on the sidewalk outside Kadic's main entrance waiting for the bus to arrive. Today, the day that their older selves warned them about, was a field trip day. The seventh and eight grades were to go to the zoo for a biology lesson with Mrs. Hertz and Jimbo. Unfortunately, Yumi was in the ninth grade and wouldn't be going yet she still stood by her friends.

"Yumi," Ulrich said, seeing the bus protrude over the horizon, "I think you should get back to class now."

The girl knew he was right but after being told what would happen, a car crash, she couldn't get the thought of one of her friends being hurt or even killed out of her mind.

As the bus came to a halt the brakes squealed and it made her jump. Then Jimbo hollered at the kids to get on and not make any trouble.

Yumi hugged Ulrich for reassurance. "I'm…scared," she replied, tightening her grip. The boy returned her touch.

"Don't worry, Yumi," Odd stated, "We won't let anything happen. If worst comes to worst, we'll make sissy sit in that seat!" The troublesome teen then laughed at his own joke.

"You know, that wouldn't be such a bad idea," Ulrich seconded, "It certainly wouldn't bother me."

Jeremie added some logic to the discussion, "As good as your intentions are I'm going to have to say that we shouldn't affect peoples' lives like that. We have no idea how they will affect us."

The computer genius wore a silver ring on his left hand. It was a promise ring. He had given the matching pair to Aelita during her first weekend as a present. However, instead of promising his love to her he promised that one day he will materialize her virus-free.

Yumi sighed and let go of her friend. She responded sadly, "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll have to deal with Sissy some other way." The woman switched topics, "Call me when it happens." Ulrich nodded.

Sissy, hearing her name came over to the gang. She snidely weaseled her way in between the two ambiguous lovebirds and took her Ulrich dear on the bus. He tried to escape but her grip was especially tight for some reason. Jeremie and Odd waved good-bye and boarded the doomed bus.

The two boys sat behind Ulrich and Sissy in the middle of the bus on the left-hand side. As they walked down the aisle they made a mental note of the "hot seat", two rows behind the driver.

The gang was also being aware of another person on the ride. Tristan was wearing his bright orange hooded sweatshirt and sat in the death chair. Ulrich noticed him and glanced back at his two friends. They all had the same thought on their minds.

The leader of the gang got up from his chair and went over to the lonesome boy. He was facing forward but his head was looking out the window. It was like he was deep in thought.

"Hey, Tristan," he interrupted the kids' mental process.

Startled at the sound of someone talking to him, Tristan turned to Ulrich with a blank expression. He replied timidly, "Ummm, hi, Ulrich"

"You want to come sit with us? I could use your company."

"Uh, sure, okay." This was the first time that someone actually _wanted_ to have his company. It was quite an unusual request for the kid since he had never done anything with Ulrich or his friends before. This was either a trap for humiliation or an invite for friendship in his mind.

Ulrich sat behind Odd and Jeremie, leaving Sissy alone. Tristan was in the aisle seat and asked, "You know this is kind of strange for you guys." The three boys stared at him, waiting for an explanation. "I mean, we aren't friends or anything."

Odd replied, "Yeah, well, sometimes you just have to change."

The four boys continued to converse as the bus began its journey. Tristan was still cautious about their intentions and didn't speak very much. As much as he wanted to be friends with them he couldn't trust them just yet.

As the bus entered the Franklin and Washington intersection, the horrors that the older gang spoke of came true. As the car that was supposed to kill Odd made its way into the intersection, it slammed into the vehicle. The second row behind the driver was totaled and squeezed tight. Students and faculty evacuated the smashed bus through the emergency exits and gathered on the sidewalk.

The four boys were stunned at the event as they had never seen or experienced a car crash before. Tristan was especially bewildered at the sight of his former seat lay in ruin.

Ulrich called Yumi. He told her every detail. To his eye, it looked like no one got hurt. That was a very welcomed relief to the girl. She let go of the breath that she was holding and heard something in the background. Yumi asked what it was and Ulrich told her that he sneezed.

"I hope you're not getting sick," she said.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing."

* * *

**A/N: An odd ending, yes but it's completely in contents. You see my special announcement is that this story was the prequel to my other story, A Fractured Life. **

**Do you remember how that story started? It began with Ulrich getting sick. I'm sure that you can connect the dots now.**

**I didn't tell you guys because I wanted it to be a surprise. However, you might notice that there are a few things that are very different in the two stories. While I was writing A Fractured Life, I had no intention of writing this but once I began to think about it (after I completed A Fractured Life) I found ways that I can improve the character and plot of it.**

**Here are a few things that are different:**

**1. Tristan is Dan's French name. The older gang called him Tristan because he didn't want to give the younger gang any indication of who he really is. You might want to re-read the parts of this story where Tristan is talked about for the first time by the older gang.**

**2. Jessica isn't in this one and for the same reason as number 1.**

**3. Sissy is still alive (I killed her in A Fractured Life, I'll explain later).**

**Okay, now that you know that what does this mean? Since I am a perfectionist in most respects I have decided to remake and revise A Fractured Life. The story was so popular while I was writing it and this that I think it would be a good idea to do this. **

**As you can imagine there are going to be a few changes. As I said earlier, Tristan is going to be Dan's French name. Sissy won't die (but bad things will happen to her). There will also be more mystery and drama in the story too. Jessica won't be so easily found for one. Yumi will slap Ulrich the day she visits him and for a much better reason too.**

**A major change is going to be in the way I write it too. It's not going to be in 1st person and there's not going to be any "thoughts". As a matter of fact it will be in third-person much like this story is but I'm going to try and stick to Ulrich mostly.**

**Don't ask me when I'm going to start this. I have no idea but since I have a good rough-draft I'd imagine that it would be too long.**

**For you Jeremie and Aelita fans don't despair. I'm going to do a one-shot with them next about her first weekend here.**

**Once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed and supported me. Your actions are very much appreciated. Thanks.**


End file.
